Denial Is The First Step
by Voldemort Perfumes
Summary: We all do it, don't we? Too afraid to take a chance, particularly on love, we prefer to wallow instead in denial, however angsty it may be. Alice too practices this form of action. Jasper, bitter from a past experience, is reluctant. Denial abounds here.
1. I Just Want What's Best For You

Step One:** "****Denial** is a defense mechanism postulated by Sigmund Freud, in which a person is faced with a fact that is too uncomfortable to accept and rejects it instead, insisting that it is not true despite what may be overwhelming evidence."

Song of the step: "Black Mirror" by: The Arcade Fire.

-x-x-x-

Chapter One: I Just Want What's Best for You

Alice was quite glad that there would be someone new moving to the area. She was sick and tired of all the familiar faces in the town of Fernwyck, and a new person would significantly liven up the place. From what she had heard in the gossip mill, it was a girl who was around her age, give or take a year. Maybe she and the newbie would even be friends. Anything's possible, right?

At least that was Alice's hope. As much as she loved her best friend, Bella, there were just some things you couldn't talk about around her. Also, Bella loathed shopping and well… that was tantamount to sin in Alice's book. She didn't understand her friend's hatred of the activity, it was just something fun you could do with others, nothing diabolical. Yet every time Alice even brought shopping up, Bella flipped her wig.

It didn't help that Edward always tried to reason with her, until she was forced to let the matter go, and go shopping alone. Well, that wasn't even true. Alice's friend Jasper went with her sometimes. But that was about it. She could at least understand why Edward acted like that, as Bella's boyfriend/fiancé (whatever they were now, Bella hadn't given an answer to his proposal yet, claiming she needed time to "think it over"), he felt obligated to make sure she was perfectly content and happy. Or some such nonsense.

In all of her twenty-three years of life, Alice had never seen a relationship so co-dependent as the one between her two friends. Sometimes they would all be hanging out together and she almost swore Edward adjusted his motions to hers, like resetting a clock. It was both weird and endearing, weird because it was so unusual, endearing because they had found each other.

Alice knew personally how long Edward had been waiting to fall in love. She and Edward had been childhood friends, they grew up next-door to each other, and therefore knew almost too much about the other. Bella had transferred to their high-school junior year, and the rest is as they say, history. She also sincerely hoped that Bella would accept his proposal. She didn't want to see what would happen if Bella broke Edward's heart. It would not be a sight for sympathetic eyes.

None of their friends would take it well.

Alice, Edward, Bella, Jasper, and Emmett were a close-knit group of five, and they had been ever since the tail end of junior year. They were all different in their ways, but somehow the constrasting personalities "clicked" to form a bond. A fluke of nature, one might say, but a delightful fluke nonetheless.

There had been no fooling anyone, _everyone_ knew Edward and Bella would get together. The three remaining friends had worked diligently on that point, and if all their hard work culminated in two broken hearts and a nonexistent wedding, well then they would have to ask themselves: was any of it worth it?

Alice, Emmett, and Jasper themselves were all single, and had been ever since they could remember. Well... that's not entirely true. Emmett did have his fair share of girlfriends, but none of them lasted long. He said quite honestly that he "was sure there wasn't going to be a right one, and that if there was, she wouldn't conveniently be living in Fernwyck."

Alice quite frankly, did not believe in the usual conceptions about love. She wasn't even sure if it was supposed to happen for everyone. While she couldn't deny that it existed, thanks to her two friends, she just didn't see much of it anywhere else, which made her resigned to the fact that she herself wasn't going to find it.

Who would want a shopaholic, borderline five-foot pixie with no curves anyway? Who would want to go out with her, or even better yet, go in it for the long haul and get married? She didn't look like a woman ought to when in maturity, so who would treat her like a grown-up, an equal, other than her friends?

Whenever she asked herself these important questions, it all bubbled down to one thing: no one. Simple as that, and she didn't think upon the subject again until she couldn't help it any more. Ignorance was bliss, after all.

So now to the new girl. She lived on the other side of town, and without meeting _too_ much resistance, Alice had assembled her group of friends to go meet their new "neighbor," and generally be friendly and welcoming. She knew how hard it was to be in a new place with practically no one you knew, thanks to her four-year stint at university.

They had all piled into Edward's Yukon, which had the three rows of seats needed to fit them all, and resolved to head over. Emmett was lounging in the very back row, saying something about getting some "shut-eye" at which Bella remarked, "Emmett, that's so untrue. You get more than enough sleep as it is."

One raised middle finger later, Edward was behind the wheel and Bella sat shotgun, leaving the middle row for Alice and Jasper. She was busy sketching out some designs on her notepad while he stared out the window. This was how car rides generally went for the group, so it was like settling back into a well-worn routine.

"Edward, I know you already met her, so what's she like?" Alice wanted to know. Edward lived on the same street as the new resident, and had generously helped the new girl move some boxes into her house. He had to know something good, she surmised.

"Her name is Rosalie Hale, she's blonde, tallish, and is going to teach kindergarten at the school. She really didn't say much other than that, it's not like we sat down for a fireside chat or anything," Edward answered summarily, keeping his eyes focused on the road.

Alice looked up from her notepad, taking in this new info. Hmm, tall, blonde...teacher? This could really work out. She eyed Jasper carefully in her peripheral vision. He was such a lonely soul, and it was tragic because Alice knew he actually believed in love. Maybe she could set things up between them, they sounded similar enough for it to be feasible....

"You'll have to give her a tour of the school, Jazz. I'm sure she would appreciate it."

"Yeah, they cover that in new teacher orientation Alice, so there's no need," he replied, turning his gaze away from the window for a moment. He looked almost affronted, but she chose to ignore that. She knew he could be stubborn, but that's only because he didn't see this as the golden opportunity it could be.

"Well, at least have lunch with her. You wouldn't want her to be lonely on her first day of teaching, would you?" Alice pressed, refusing to back down in her new little plan.

Jasper sighed, and his posture suggested defeat. "Fine, I will have lunch with her."

"Thank you, Jazz," Alice sang, leaning over to give him a quick peck on the cheek as a token of gratitude. He worked hard to compose his face into something other than a goofy smile. This went mostly unnoticed by the rest of the car, except for an uncharacteristically observant Bella, who saw it in the rearview mirror, and bit her lip so that she kept her thoughts to herself. She wasn't about to create unneeded strife in the group.

A few minutes later they parked in Edward's driveway, willing to walk a few houses down to the new girl's place. Everyone filed out of the Yukon, Alice toting the welcome basket they had chipped in to get. It was rather like a scene from a movie how they all stood dutifully on Miss Hale's porch, bearing gifts. Emmett was elected to ring the doorbell, and until then all they could do is wait patiently.

There was the sound of locks being turned, and soon the door opened to reveal a woman fitting Edward's earlier description. Tall, blonde, and definitely a perfect female specimen, Alice thought grudgingly as she took in the woman's immaculate looks. She looked about to see everyone else's reactions. Emmett was typical, practically gawking at the poor girl---thankfully she hadn't seemed to notice him yet---Bella was casting nervous looks at Edward, who seeing her dilemma, leaned down to whisper in her ear.

"You know I prefer brunettes Bella, after all, what color is your hair, love?"

Carefully Alice now turned to study the most important reaction of all, Jasper's. He didn't seem perturbed at all, merely stood there quietly, smiling politely at no one in particular. Well, he's just shy probably, Alice added to herself. Time will change that though....

"Hello, I'm Alice, and these are my friends," she waved around to the rest of group, "and we just wanted to welcome you to Fernwyck!" she concluded, shoving the welcoming basket forward. The blonde woman took it from her, smiling delicately.

"Nice to meet you all. I'm Rosalie Hale, but you can call me Rose if you'd like," she introduced herself, looking pointedly at the corner where Emmett and Jasper were standing. Alice smiled as she thought to herself that this might even be easier than she had originally anticipated.

"Um, would you all like to come in while I open this? There's plenty of seats in the living room," Rose offerred, gesturing inside of her house.

"Sure, we'd love to," Bella accepted, slipping her hand into Edward's as the five of them followed inside after Rosalie. They could see that there were still boxes here and there, which made sense as she had only just moved in, but the living room was mostly complete, with a stereo, mid-sized T.V, and several couches and chairs. Everyone took their places sitting, Alice and Emmett sat on either side of Rosalie on the couch, Bella was on Edward's lap in an armchair, and Jasper was in the other chair.

Rosalie perched the basket on her lap, and gently sifted through it, reading out each gift slowly and taking the chance to thank whoever had bestowed it upon her.

"Thank you Bella, I love flowers...well especially orchids. They're so rare, where did you get them?"

"I grew them. I own the nursery here in Fernwyck, so I have all kinds of lovely plants. I figured these would be different for a change, so I'm glad you liked them," Bella answered, smiling sweetly.

"Well, thanks, I'll have to stop by there to get some stuff for my landscaping, my yard could use some more flowers, I'm just not sure what kind..." Rosalie trailed off uncertainly.

"Come in any time for a consultation, I help a lot people pick stuff out, so maybe I could give you a hand."

"Or a green thumb?" Emmett suggested innocently, though the mischievious glint in his eyes gave him away. Rosalie laughed, and Bella shot Emmett a dirty look, giving him the finger this time. Alice shook her head. They acted like brother and sister, those two....

"Why don't you see what Emmett got you?" Bella said, her eyes mimicking Emmett's earlier fervor.

"Okay..." Rosalie said, trying to find the gift amongst the rest of them.

"Hmm, a shirt?" She said, holding it up for examination. It was a dark blue tee-shirt that read: "Don't hassle me, I'm a local." "Actually, this could come in handy, thank you Emmett," Rose concluded, folding the shirt neatly and draping it over her knee so that her hands were free again.

"You're most certainly welcome. See Bella, she likes my gift," he teased, unable to help himself.

"Not the gift you're thinking of," Bella shot back pointedly, giving him a truly terrifying glare.

"Can't you restrain her or something?" he asked Edward, who merely shook his head no. Bella smiled triumphantly and leaned back, getting comfortable against Edward.

A bottle of fine champagne and a gift certificate to the day spa later, it was time for Jasper's gift. Rosalie reached into the basket and drew out a small, oaken box that positively gleamed as if it had just been made and cleaned. There was a delicate little lock on the front of the box, and a small, floral design carved around the edges.

"Oh, another box," she exclaimed, and everyone chuckled, seeing as how she still had plenty of boxes left in her house to unpack. Bella, in another fit of observant-ness, noticed that Jasper's laugh was only half-hearted. He must have put a lot of work into it, poor guy.

Bella and Jasper had always gotten along extremely well, as they were similar in many respects. They were quiet souls, and neither of them sought any constant attention or recognition, but as the old saying goes, a craftsman likes to hear his work is appreciated. Not many people knew, but Jasper liked to build things in his spare time, using several art mediums, of which his favorite was wood. This must have been another one of his side projects, Bella guessed.

"It's an um...jewelry box. I figured that a girl would have a use for it," Jasper explained mildly, earning him another pity glance from Bella.

"Yeah, I do have some jewelry, so this would work...thanks," Rose said offhandedly, setting the box down with her other gifts.

-x-x-x-

Later, as they were heading out to the car to go home, Bella made it a point to have a talk with her friend. She pulled him aside while the rest of the group got situated back in the Yukon, and said quietly, "It was a beautiful gesture, Jasper, I'm sorry you didn't get a little more feedback."

"It's okay Bella, a lot of things in this world go unnoticed. No use mourning each and every one."

For some reason his words struck a chord in Bella, who contemplated everything carefully as they two got in the car. He had said a lot of things went unnoticed, and usually she would just dismiss it as the truth, but for now, she was curious. What did he feel like mourning? Surely it couldn't just be the box.

But what then? It's not like he had ever mentioned anything like this before. She sighed, thinking to herself that she needed to get to the bottom of this.

"What's bugging you, Bella? You've got that look in your eye," Edward observed as he parked along the street where she lived. He was dropping her off last in deferrance to the rest of the group. Plus, Bella figured he probably wanted a chance to kiss her goodnight without a chorus of "Eww! Gross!" courtesy of Emmett.

"Just something someone said, but it's really nothing. Trivial, so don't worry yourself about it."

"I could say the same to you," he remarked pointedly, flashing her a crooked smile that was his trademark.

"Probably tomorrow I won't even remember it," she lied, placing a smile on her face for good measure. No need to upset him, it wasn't his mystery to solve.

"All right then. Shall I walk you to your door?"

"If you must."

-x-x-x-

**Author's Note: This story has been bugging me for a while now...it just demands to be written. I would really like to get some reviews, not just alerts and favourites. Please, pretty please?**


	2. Lunch With Fate?

Step One:** "****Denial** is a defense mechanism postulated by Sigmund Freud, in which a person is faced with a fact that is too uncomfortable to accept and rejects it instead, insisting that it is not true despite what may be overwhelming evidence."

Song of the step: "Black Mirror" by: The Arcade Fire.

Song of the chapter: "Dammit" by: Blink-182.

-x-x-x-

Chapter Two: A Lunch With Fate?

The day dawned, much to the disparagement of the students of the Fernwyck School District. The sounds of sychronized groaning in every household when the children awoke for the day were staggering, and the mothers were bemoaning the fact that they were no longer able to sleep in in the mornings, but get up with their offspring to make sure they were all good and ready. Coffee was commonly brewed from one house to the next, and the roads were filled by school buses, SUVs, sedans, minivans and pick-up trucks, all for the purpose of education. At eight-o-clock sharp the middle and high school went into session, with the elementary soon following.

Being a small town, there was not unlimited space for the educational buildings. The elementary and middle school were on the same campus as one another, with the high school located a few blocks down the road. All three behemoth institutions were built of firehouse brick with black tarred roofs. The classrooms themselves were done up in either pale, robin's-egg blue or an off-white shade. Carpeting was standardly brown, and where there was no carpet, slate-coloured linoleum took its place.

Rosalie Lillian Hale examined her own classroom, its posters displaying the alphabet and numbers from 1 to 100, the colours, and the shapes. It was a tranquil place, and she could tell that some good hours would be spent here. She had always loved children, especially those little ones that were in the kindergarten range. They were just so sweet and unassuming, malleable unlike their adult counterparts. She could be herself with no preconceptions other than being honest and being appropriate. And that is why she wasn't nervous for her first day of teaching. It wasn't the stint she had done as a teacher's assistant that had prepared her for this, it was the kids themselves that made her feel at home.

-x-x-x-

As he sat back in his desk chair, Jasper wondered to himself why he was teaching where he was. The subject itself was explainable; he'd always enjoyed History, particularly that of the U.S. The location was homely, he'd grew up here in Fernwyck, and he had lots of friends here. But the grade level? That he would never understand...

Middle-school was a hellish time, and one could pretty much guarantee the kids only saw it as a stepping stone to high school, the supposed glory land. It almost pained him knowing that most of the kids who would go onto high school would wish that maybe middle-school hadn't flown by so fast. That they would have slowed down, and prepared themselves for what high school truly was, a living hell unless you were one of the lucky few who were on top of the social structure.

But that was the problem with kids and with education these days. They were always looking towards the next step, the next test. The love of learning, the quality of it had all but disappeared in recent years. Students who enjoyed school were few and far in between. Parents lived vicariously through their children because they had failed when they were in school. Failed to do what they subconsciously wanted because they were worried about moving on or acing an exam. What a pity.

The bell rang, and his first period students filed in, looking peeved. Jasper smiled. This should be an interesting class. It ought not to be too bad on the kid's part, seeing as the ineffectual bureaucracy of the schools had decreed that the first and second days of class were to be allotted to going over the class syllabus. He always hated this stipulation, thinking to himself that the kids could just read it at home, and the first couple days wouldn't be wasted on reiterating rules that had been pounded into the children's head from day one of their education anyway. They ought to know them, and therefore what was the point of wasting so much time with nothing new?

-x-x-x-

Her Franco Sarto boots made clicking noises as she walked up to the little building where she worked. Her office was on the second floor of the establishment. It wasn't too bad of a commute from Fernwyck to Algodon, only around twenty-five minutes. She'd one-hand the steering wheel and sip her morning tea on the way to work, and then fill up her cup when she got to the office. That was her day-to-day routine.

Her office itself was in creative chaos, with design books and papers all about, mingling with her desk clutter and other such items. That's how it always was when she was in the middle of a project, and she had made it routine to do a big office cleaning only when and if she completed the project.

Right now she was in the midst of planning a fiftieth-anniversary party for a nice elderly couple who lived on Stanisbury Lane here in Algodon. Their names were Michael and Janine Freedman, and Alice was hard-pressed to find nicer people to work with. The Freedmans were the epitome of every event manager's perfect client. They knew what they wanted, they had a decent budget, and pretty much gave the planner free reign. It was working out quite nicely so far.

They would be holding their party at the Algodon Country Club, a popular spot for get-togethers in the county, and the actual event would be an outdoor one. There would be a huge canopy tent pitched on the lawn to accomodate all the guests and extended family, and dinner would be served for a mere seventy-five people. The menu was fairly straightforward, except the Freedmans had asked that there be some vegetarian courses for their daughter and her family. To top it all off, there would be a layered cake and champagne toast so that it would almost be like a second wedding, except that no vows would be taken.

Bella had been contracted to do the centerpiece arrangements, and for that, Alice was glad she could suggest her. Friends help friends out, after all. She'd even angled Bella and Edward invites, so that Alice wouldn't have to go alone. She wanted to see her masterpiece when it was complete.

She just had one ticket left, and she was trying to decide on who to ask. She could invite Rosalie, it would be only polite, but then again usually she asked one of her boys to come with her. Emmett was always a fun "date," especially when it was time to dance. Yes, she'd have to ask him if he'd go.

-x-x-x-

Lunchtime commenced, and the teachers breathed a sigh of relief. Rosalie was in between A.M and P.M kindergarten, and as much as she was enjoying it so far, she needed a break. You had to watch the little ones every second, and so there was no time just to slow down and take a breath.

She selected a salad and some bottled water, setting it all on a bright blue lunch tray to take to the teacher's lounge. A few of the teachers were already seated inside, while still others were subjected to the torture of waiting in line to get their lunches behind the students. She didn't envy them.

-x-x-x-

He had promised Alice he would have lunch with Rosalie. That request in itself seemed innocent enough to the outside observer, but Jasper knew it wasn't all that innocent. This little game had been going on for years, ever since high school. A new girl would come along, and Alice would shove him in that direction with her little hints and "Oh Jazz, won't you?"'s that she knew he couldn't resist. It was madness.

He had thought that maybe, just maybe after all these years that she would start to add everything up, to realize that in the end, all the girls she tried to set him up with went away, and yet she and he were still just friends, a fact that irritated him to no end because it wasn't enough.

Alice had been the first, and so far only girl he had ever loved. He wanted to be with her so bad, but she just wouldn't let him. Jasper was sure she didn't even contemplate them together, hell, he might as well be her blood brother with all the romantic attention she had lavished on him.

So he wasn't surprised, merely frustrated when she had asked him to take lunch with the new girl. He remembered back to the car ride, where he had once again shelved his pride and gave in. "Fine, I will have lunch with her." Jesus, he really hated himself sometimes...

And there she was...

"Hey, Miss Hale, why don't you sit with me?" he motioned to her, and saw the look of relief flash across her face. All in a day's work, he grumbled to himself. She came over with her salad and bottled water, and sat down across from him.

"So, how was your first class? Little tykes behave themselves?"

Rosalie smiled. "For the most part, but you know kids. They have a mind of their own," she answered.

"True, but even adults can be petulant." He could easily think of one such example.

"Yeah, but adults are worse. Kids are fairly innocent; that's why I like being around them. They don't have ulterior motives," Rose explained. "But how about you? Middle school working out for you?"

"It does from time to time. I have this little punk in my class though, kid thinks he's the greatest thing to ever walk the planet. I hate kids like that..."

"Sometimes you just have to work a little harder with them, that's all. There's usually a reason they act out," she said, looking a little mischievious as she stared at me from under her lashes. Dammit, she was flirting with me now, he thought venomously. He knew what Alice would want him to do...

"Do you umm... want to... well Friday nights we go and get a drink, it's tradition?" he stumbled, willing himself just to get the words out.

"Come again?" Rose asked.

"I just wanted to know if you would like to have drinks with us on Friday. The whole group goes out, it's tradition," he said, sucking in a huge breath after saying it all on one long breath. He congratulated himself for doing it.

"Oh, yeah, that sounds fun," she agreed, sounding mildly disappointed. Whatever, he thought. She agreed, and that was the point of it. He couldn't suck up the courage to ask her out on a solo date. Maybe after he'd had a drink or two on Friday, then he might be okay. It wasn't called liquid courage for nothing after all.

"Well then, if that's settled, I'm gonna go grade some of the kid's tests. They took away my planning period this semester; they wanted me to go ahead and teach 20th Century History as well."

"All right. I'll get in touch with you later then?"

"Sure. Call me anytime."

Rosalie floundered as Jasper relievedly made his escape. She mouthed, "I don't have your number..." hopelessly, but he was already out of the room, moving like a bat out of hell. Rose sighed. At least there was always the phone directory...

-x-x-x-

Jasper was happy to get back to his classroom, and even more euphoric that he didn't have to outright lie to accomplish this feat. It was true he had papers to grade, but the thing is, technically he had plenty of time to grade them when he got home. Maybe he'd treat himself to a gratuitous shower instead, what with all the extra time. Read a book or something useful.

As usual, his rather pedantic student Marcus was waiting outside the door. Marcus was always the first one back from lunch, in fact Jasper sometimes wondered if the kid even ate at all. Sure the kid was eager to learn, unlike most, but why did he have to forgo lunch?

"Hey Mark, are you prepped for the pop quiz today?" Jasper asked him sternly, unlocking the classroom door only to swing it open. His student filed in after him, setting his red backpack on one of the front-row desks.

"Yeah, Mr. Whitlock, I'm think I've got it in the bag," Marcus answered, pulling out his history textbook from the backpack. "But just in case," he added thoughtfully, "I might want to give this another read."

Jasper sat behind the teacher's desk, picked up a red marking pen, and slapped the first test sheet he came in contact with down on the desk's surface. Without even eyeing the master key, he began grading the test. He worked in companionable silence while Marcus read the textbook.

Inevitably something had to break the silence. The phone on his desk began ringing, and he sighed heavily, set the pen down, and picked up the reciever before it could make any more noises. The ring of it was so annoying...

"Mr. Whitlock's room. Speaking," he rattled off dutifully, his hand picking up the pen again anyway. He liked to keep his hands busy.

"Hi Jazz, it's Alice." He smiled.

"What's up with you, Ali?" he wondered aloud, daring to hope.

"I was just checking on you...so did you have lunch with Rosalie?" she wanted to know. His hand clenched tightly around the pen, threatening to snap it in half.

"Yes, I did," he said, trying to keep the hurt out of his voice.

"Good boy. And what else...did you ask her out?"

"No, but I did invite her to the brewery for Friday. You know, with the whole group."

"Oh...I see," she said, the disappointment tempering her voice. His heart sank, and he felt conflicting emotions well up inside him. He was angry. And sad. And he didn't know which emotion was stronger right now. He wanted to scream about how much he wanted her, how much he didn't want to go out with this new girl. But in the end, he knew he would do what he had always done. He would yield.

"I just thought it would be a little forward to ask her out right now," he sighed, lying through his teeth.

"Okay, I guess I can understand that. Well, I'll let you get back to molding those young minds, Jazzy, don't work yourself too hard!" she giggled, and it sounded like bells to him. His breath hitched, and his hand shook a little.

"All right, have fun making _other_ people's dreams come true," he said, knowing she'd hardly sense the hidden meaning in that. She murmured a goodbye, and then they hung up. He felt drained after that little phone call, knowing that the cycle was just starting all over again. She'd pressure, he'd yield, he'd go out with someone he didn't like, hate himself, and then find some way to break up with the girl and make excuses to Alice. Then it would happen again...and again, and again. He had no doubt that it would always be this way, and with that thought, he was melancholy.

-x-x-x-

**Author's Note: This story has been bugging me for a while now...it just demands to be written. I would really like to get some reviews, not just alerts and favourites. Please, pretty please? **

**I am one of 25 authors that has been chosen to write a "lemon" for **BritishBitches'** First Annual Twilight Smut-Vent Calendar! My one-shot will be posted in their story on December 4th. If anyone would like to go give it a read, now you know about it. Also go ahead and check out the other entries, the first of which was posted today. There's so much talent, I think you'll be blown away.**


	3. It's Tradition

Step One:** "Denial** is a defense mechanism postulated by Sigmund Freud, in which a person is faced with a fact that is too uncomfortable to accept and rejects it instead, insisting that it is not true despite what may be overwhelming evidence."

Song of the step: "Black Mirror" by: The Arcade Fire.

Song of the chapter: "Build God, Then We'll Talk" by: Panic! At The Disco.

-x-x-x-

Chapter Three: It's Tradition.

The Avondale Brewery had seen a lot of firsts.

Bella Swan and Edward Cullen had had their first date here, Mrs. Emma Dean had gone into labor with her first child here, giving life to a bonny boy she named George. The first pangs of heartbreak had also been felt here. Many a girl or boy had been dumped here, and conversely, the brewery was the site of true love as well. Eric and Sasha Newell had gotten engaged here, and even with the negatives thrown in, the brewery was a fine place to hang out, especially on the weekends when the room was packed and the conversation was lively.

The gang was gathered for their weekly tradition of drinks at the Avondale Brewery. It was a good time for them to catch up with each other, trade stories about the week, and occasionally they made plans for Saturday or Sunday if they weren't too busy.

Rosalie Hale was quite nonplussed about why they had so easily assimilated her into their close-knit group, but she was thankful to have some friends in this new town she had moved to. She herself was originally a city girl from New York, and so the quiet, small town atmosphere was a big change albeit a good one.

The six of them were currently settled around a table just a few over from the bar.

"All right, what do you guys have to say? Anything interesting happen at work?" Bella initiated the conversation, looking around the table at her friends.

"Nothing much. But guess who started showing up at the gym!" Emmett began, looking around to solicit guesses.

"Who?" they asked in unison.

"Mikey Mike Newton!"

"Ugh, I guess I can't ever come visit you at work then," Bella said unhappily, wrinkling her nose at the thought of Newton, the prick who had relentlessly pursued her all throughout her last two years of high school. She almost felt bad for the guy, he didn't have a clue. He always thought he had a chance with her, but Bella had taken up with Edward almost right off the bat. To Bella, there was no comparison to Edward. He was it for her.

"Aww, you don't want to see him doing his squats and lunges?" Emmett teased. Bella grimaced.

"No thank you. I'd rather not vomit."

"Suit yourself."

"I've got a story. Bella almost fell down the stairs when she came to pick me up for dinner Wednesday. She's lucky I was only a step behind her, otherwise she would have gone down those stairs," Edward told the group, looking slightly panic-stricken at such a thought.

"Yeah Edward, because that is such a news-breaking story," Jasper said sarcastically, sending Bella a sympathetic look. Poor girl had no coordination whatsoever.

"Bella being clumsy? What else is new?" Emmett commented.

"Thanks for your support," she muttered.

"Anyhow, what about you people?" Emmett wondered, gesturing at Alice, Jasper, and Rosalie. The latter two exchanged glances.

"Well we did get a new coffeemaker in the staff lounge...does that count?"

"Not exactly," Emmett confided.

"Then we have nothing to say."

"Alice?"

"Tanya Denali is driving me crazy. I just got her account yesterday, and I swear she's a bridezilla! She changes her mind about every five minutes, and she has no sense of style. You should see the dresses she picked out for her bridesmaids. They were covered in sequins! Sequins! They're going to look like Vegas showgirls by the time they get out of hair and makeup on the big day!"

"Oh poor Ali, not the sequins!" Emmett teased, unable to help himself.

"You sound like the gingerbread man from Shrek. 'Not the gumdrop buttons!'" Rosalie observed, giggling at her revelation.

"Hey, would you like someone plucking your gumdrop buttons?!" Everyone chuckled as they made their own assumptions about the alleged "gumdrop buttons." Something about Emmett's question didn't sound completely legit.

"That depends. If they did it nice and gently, then I wouldn't have a problem with it," Rose answered, smirking unabashedly.

"Ladies and gents we've got a wild one here!" he shot back, pointing towards her and grinning.

"Emmett, I was only talking about gumdrop buttons," she reminded him in a would-be-innocent tone.

"Of course you were, darlin'. I can keep a secret." Bella began to make little choking noises.

"That will be the day, Emmett. You couldn't keep a secret to save your life!" she remarked, raising an eyebrow sternly.

"Anyway, let's move on. What brilliant topic would you like to talk about this time?" Edward asked the group. A few of them shrugged noncommitally, and then Emmett got that gleam in his eyes that spelled out impending mischief. Edward looked worried.

"So guys, who was your first? That is if you don't mind admitting," Emmett asked, wiggling an eyebrow suggestively. He snuck a gaze at Rosalie, pointedly telling her that he wanted her to go first. She smirked complacently, and prepared to answer.

"My boyfriend Anson, just after senior prom. He got me the most beautiful corsage..." she sighed dreamily, remembering. For a few seconds her visage registered like this, and then her violet eyes narrowed in concentration. "What about you, Emmett?"

"I lost it freshman year to this beautiful junior. Her name was Ashleigh, and I think she was more than a little soft for dimples. Of course, I just flashed them, and well, the rest was history!"

"Wow, I didn't know someone could be that cocky...dimples, huh?" she teased.

Emmett smiled, showing off the facial feature. Rose examined them, and was embarrassed to note that they were very cute indeed. Mentally shaking herself, she smiled delicately and tried to look neutral.

"See?" he asked.

"No, I honestly don't," she answered.

"Well then in that case, let's move on. Bella, you next!"

"Emmett, I think you already know the answer to that one."

"Aww, but just say it out loud. Rose doesn't know," he said, taking on a 'hurt' tone.

"Edward," Bella answered smoothly.

Meanwhile, some at the table were not so excited to divulge the secret of who had taken their innocence. Some cowered in fear, feeling that to tell the truth would cause too much harm to someone they loved, or to one of their friends. Others were embarrassed to admit who it was, because deep down, they never wanted to be with that person in the first place. However, one emotion they had in common was that of regret. Regret for their actions, and regret for their lack of insight.

"Well then, Eddie, how about you?" Emmett inquired.

"It should be obvious; Bella and I lost it to each other."

"Okay then, don't be so snappy bro. Like I said, Rosalie is new and she doesn't know all these things, kay? Just chill. Alice?"

"Um...Ryan Messinger, senior year. It was at Brady's house party. Tacky I know, but it just sort of happened..." she answered. Jasper's head shot up as he mentally did the math. That couldn't be right. Alice had left Brady's party about ten minutes after it started because Lauren had showed up, and Alice hated Lauren. Besides, there were other reasons why Jasper knew Alice had just told a little white lie.

She's lucky they aren't more perceptive, he thought to himself. She's practically giving herself away by the way she's acting. He studied her slumped posture, the way her eyes were fixated downwards at the table, how she stroked her hair nervously, those were all the signs. Alice never could lie because she'd never had to. She never got the practice with it most people did.

It made him mad to think she didn't have the guts to fess up, but that was her choice to make. He could see why she wouldn't want to say, but still, honesty was named as the best policy, and it was long ago. People were more mature now, and they would probably be able to handle the truth. Yet still, she lied, and Jasper really, really didn't like that.

"Jazz...hello? Your turn. Fess up."

"This girl in college. I was drunk. Hardly remember a thing," he muttered. That too wasn't exactly the truth. He remembered exactly what it had been like. Remembered the self-loathing, and yet his flesh had betrayed him, growing stiff as the girl started to strip on his bed, thinking herself sexy. Remembered the feeling of being inside a woman for the first time, and the cowardly way he had closed his eyes, pretending that he was doing anything else but having sex with a girl he didn't like. He also recalled how his partner had even commented on his reluctance.

"You don't even seem into it," she had said scathingly, sending him a disgusted look before she got dressed and left. He had hated himself that night.

"Drinks, anyone?" the waitress asked politely as she stopped by their table.

"What do you want gents, beers?" Emmett guessed. Jasper nodded, and Edward shrugged, meaning yes. "Three beers. Ladies?"

"I'll take a kamikaze, please," Bella told "Sandy," their waitress.

"A cosmo for me."

"And you... you are legal, right?" Sandy asked Alice, who sighed.

"Yes, I am, I'm just vertically challenged, thanks."

"Okay, what do you want to drink then?" said Sandy, trying to save face and possibly her tip money...

"Single-malt scotch. On the rocks."

"All right then, I'll be right back with those drinks."

"I hate when they say it like that. 'I'll be right back with those,'" Emmett mimicked her voice, "Everyone knows it'll take more time than that, especially when you've got so many drink orders to fill."

"Emmett hon, do you say everything that goes through your mind?" Rosalie teased.

"Just about," he answered unabashedly.

"Oh, Em, I was meaning to ask you, do you want to come with me to the Freedman's anniversary party? They're gonna have a great menu..." Alice said, hoping this would be enticing to her friend, who had a penchant for half-way decent cuisine.

"When is it?" he inquired, a serious look crossing his face.

"Thursday. Please?" Alice asked, making puppy dog eyes at him.

"Can't do it kid. You know I gotta go home for my mama's birthday. If it was any other weekend I'd love to," he answered solemnly.

"Aww, Emmett, you're letting me down here," she complained disconsolately.

"Sorry Tink."

Alice wrinkled her nose. "Emmett, please don't start with that old nickname."

"Fine, Mary Alice Brandon. That suit you?"

"That's slightly better, but you could just call me Alice like everyone else? Any who...have fun at your mother's, and send her my love. Jasper... could you maybe come with me? I know you'll have school the next day but...please?"

"I don't know..." he hedged, "I'm not sure how I feel about being your last pick."

"Jazz, my last pick would be someone like Eric Yorkie. Don't ever think you're a last resort," she clarified, flashing him a smile. If only she meant that about other things, he thought unhappily.

"All right then. I just won't drink then. Working with a hangover is not one of my priorities," he joked.

"Thank you!" she replied exuberantly, looking relieved to finally figure out who to bring with her.

-x-x-x-

Rosalie and Jasper were quietly speaking with one another while Edward twirled Bella around the dance floor like a princess, ignoring her complaints that she had two left feet. Emmett was up by the bar, getting himself another beer, and all was calm.

Alice watched furtively as the two of them talked, feeling hollow inside. She should be happy for him, Rosalie was a great girl, they'd probably have a good time together. But she just couldn't bring herself to be joyful about that notion. The truth was, Alice envied Rosalie for the things she would never have. Her matured looks, her utter perfection, it was all out of Alice's reach, and as much as she hated to think it, she would never even come close to looking like that.

"So, you want to have dinner?" she heard him say, and her heart sunk. Here we go again, she muttered to herself. Another girl, Alice...why do you torture yourself this way? she wondered mutinously.

"I'd love to," Rosalie answered, smiling prettily for him.

Alice knew she had serious problems, but she just couldn't help herself. Every time there was a beautiful girl in town, she'd ask Jasper to have dinner with them, or something. A date of some kind. He always did it, being a loyal friend. The truth was, she only did it so she could pretend that it was her and him on the date since he'd never go out with her like that.

She had always loved Jasper, ever since they were kids. Nothing had ever come of that love though because if anything, Alice was realistic. She knew she wouldn't be attractive, that she had a girlish figure, what man would want that? Definitely no man as perfect as her Jazzy. And she wasn't about to and damage their friendship by confessing about it. Friendship was the best she could hope for, and she wanted him in her life, however small a part of it he was....

-x-x-x-

**Author's Note: **

**You wonder who Alice's first really was? I'm really evil, I'm saving that...shocking story for later. Feel free to pelt me with rotten fruit. Oh, by the way, a hint: The guy is probably not who you think it is. Does anyone have any hunches as to who it would be? I'd like to hear your theories.**

**Actually the date my lemon will be in the Smut-Vent calendar has changed. It will be posted tomorrow from what Lucy and Em have told me. **


	4. Here We Go Again

Step One:** "Denial** is a defense mechanism postulated by Sigmund Freud, in which a person is faced with a fact that is too uncomfortable to accept and rejects it instead, insisting that it is not true despite what may be overwhelming evidence."

Song of the step: "Black Mirror" by: The Arcade Fire.

Song of the chapter: "First Date" by: Blink-182.

-x-x-x-

Chapter Four: Here We Go Again.

It was Tuesday night, and therefore the night he and Rosalie were going out to dinner together. They didn't have anything to grade tonight, so they had elected to have dinner now. Jasper was taking her to Main Street Diner, a popular establishment with the Fernwyck locals.

The diner itself was 50's themed, as many diners are. The waitresses donned long skirts and blouses, and put their hair up. The uniform colour was an off-white colour for the blouse and a salmon-pink for the skirt. The waitress that attended them, Ginny, had added a twist on her uniform by putting on black, slightly scuffed-up hightop Converse. Ginny looked to be a teenager, maybe around 17 or so.

"Good evenin' to you, I'm Gin and I'll be your server today!" she exclaimed rather exuberantly, clutching her order notepad to her chest. Her faux-black hair was swept up in a rockabilly-style ponytail with Betty Paige bangs.

"Nice to meet you, Gin, but do you mind just giving us a minute or two? We haven't quite decided yet," Jasper told the waitress, smiling politely to show that he bore her no ill will. Gin's eyes widened as she looked over them both.

"Oh, all right then, I'll just go dilly-dally for a few minutes. Let me know when you're ready!" she replied, turning on her heel and strode back off to the comfort of the countertops where she started to chat up a matronly red-headed woman.

"I think she has a crush on you, Jasper," Rosalie suggested, nodding towards where Gin was.

"Maybe, maybe...but it's unrequited. I am on a date with you after all," he conceded.

"Good to hear. It's kind of cute though. She's just so young...not that we're old but still...it's been a while since we were sixteen, seventeen, you know?" Rose said, leaning forward now that she had seized on a topic to talk about.

He noticed that the tank-top she she had chosen to wear, a metallic blue colour that set off her eyes and blonde hair, was extremely low-cut, giving him a nice view of her breasts. He could just spot the swells, the little gap in between them, and he couldn't help but gulp. It may have been a while since he had been a teenager, but right now he felt just like an inexperienced boy trying to catch a peek. Ashamed, he raised his eyes up to make contact with hers, and tried to fish an answer out of his incoherent brain.

"Um...yeah. Things seem so different now, and I have to admit, adulthood ain't all I made it out to be when I was younger. No late nights and constant partying...I wish that were true, but it isn't."

"Ha I know exactly what you mean! I never wanted to be a teacher for starters, but one day I came upon a kindergarten, and just sort of fell in love!"

"I always liked history, even when I was a kid..." Jasper mused.

"No offense, but I never was too into that subject. I guess I just preferred Art and English, mainly. I just couldn't find anything in history that really interested me. It's all in the past, you know?"

"Well yeah, but we can learn from the past. If we don't learn from past mistakes, we're condemned to repeat them in the future."

"I suppose," Rosalie conceded, plainly saying that she wanted out of this topic. "So um, do you know what you want?"

"Yeah, I do. You?"

"Yep."

"All right," he said, working hard to keep the relief out of his voice. He motioned over towards the counter. Gin looked up, her ice-blue eyes fixed on their table, and she nodded, grabbing her notepad off the counter. Like an angel of mercy, she didn't take her time coming over to get their order.

"I'll have a house burger, hold the onions," Rosalie stated, watching as the young waitress scurried to write it down.

"For me, the grilled cheese and a side of tomato soup."

"Oh, I love the soup here, Ronnie makes it real nice," the waitress said wistfully, sneaking a glance back at the kitchen. Then she added the order to her list.

"And for a drinks?" Gin piped up.

"A coke for me. Jasper?"

"Hmm, I guess I'll just go with a _Sprite_."

* * *

There was an incessant knocking upon her front door, and Bella was mildly confused. She sat up in bed, smoothing down the skirt of her nightgown and rubbing at her tired eyes. Who in the world? She looked at the clock...it was only ten o'clock, but she'd gone to bed at eight so she could wake up early to open the nursery.

Frowning, she slowly eased her way out of bed and stood up, traipsing through her house until she reached the front door.

"Hold on, hold on," she muttered like a mantra until she could get the door locks undone. She wrenched it open to reveal a rather bright-eyed Rosalie, who still had her hand raised as if she was going to knock again. Bella raised her eyebrows. "What are you here for?"

"I need to vent to someone," Rosalie said, as if that should be obvious.

"Was the date that bad?" Bella wondered aloud, puzzled.

"No, it was so-so, but I need to talk so can I come in?" Rose asked forcefully. Bella sighed and waved her in. They went into the darkened living room, upon which Bella flicked the lightswitch to bring the room into sharp relief. She and Rosalie sat on the couch, Bella wondered what it was that had happened. Or not happened, now that Bella thought about it more. Who really knows?

"Okay, so what requires venting?"

"Well I was thinking I could start in the beginning."

"If you must," Bella said.

"Okay, so we went to the Main Street Diner, right? Isn't that awful?"

"Yeah, totally," Bella lied. In fact, the diner was pretty swell. Though to a city-girl...maybe it wasn't up to Rosalie's high standards.

"So it started off on a bad foot anyway, and then this waitress we had, she said call her Gin, right? An alcohol for a name? She knew that when men think of alcohol, they think of sex... she was so blatantly obvious."

"Mmm-hmm," Bella hummed noncommitally. Again, not exactly true. "What was her name though?"

"Ginny."

"Maybe she just likes Gin better, like I like Bella instead of Isabella?" she suggested mildly.

"Maybe, but I'm pretty sure she was just being coquettish."

"Okay..."

"So then he orders grilled-cheese and tomato soup. How childish is that? And he doesn't even need soup, he doesn't have a cold or anything. That sort of a dinner I could see someone feeding one of my kindergarteners, but a grown man? No."

Bella decided it was best not to comment on that one.

"But he was ogling me," Rosalie said quite confidently. "He definitely got a peek down my shirt, and he gulped. That's a good sign, right?"

Or a very, very bad one, Bella mused inwardly, deciding to tell Rose that would not be the best option at this time. "Oh, sure it is. I mean I wouldn't know…but I think so." Very decisive, she thought sarcastically. You're a regular Dr. Phil, Bella.

"I know, I totally agree," Rose went on, not even noticing that Bella really hadn't committed to a straight yes-or-no answer.

"Though I can't understand him. He gets a peek and then he says he wants to wait to have sex!" she exclaimed, sounding mildly pissed off.

That caught Bella's undivided attention.

"Wait, he said he wants to wait?"

"I know, thank you Bella! What guy wants to wait? I'm a grown woman and I have needs! He didn't even give me a goodnight kiss. The 'gentleman' gave me a kiss on the cheek, like I was his sister or something!" Rosalie fumed.

Bella furrowed her brow. That _was_ a little odd. She tucked the thought away for later, when she could make more sense of it. Even on her first date with Edward she had at least gotten a chaste kiss on the lips...even when she dated Jacob Black back in her old home she had kissed him. Weird...she thought. Why is he being so...standoffish? Was that the right word? She'd have to have a talk with Jasper soon, that was for sure. Bella wanted answers.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**If you don't know what Betty Paige bangs look like, there's a link to a picture of them on my profile. ****Wow, I was glad to hear so many theories! I can see that you guys were really thinking about it. Here's what guesses I have gotten so far:**

**James: 3 votes (most people seemed to think it was him. We'll see if y'all are right...)**

**Mike: 1 vote**

**Eric: 1 vote (shudders...)**

**Was it A Girl?: 1 vote**

**She's a virgin: 1 vote**

**Emmett: 1 vote**

**Jasper maybe: 1 vote**

**Those were the votes I got. I'll tell you right now that it was not Eric Yorkie. So he's out of the running. Lol, (still shudders)... ****My lemon in the Smut-Vent calendar is posted both on the calendar story and on my profile. It's a Rosalie/Emmett one, so if you're into that, check it out. Title is "The List."**


	5. Bella Swan, PrivateEye

Step One:** "Denial** is a defense mechanism postulated by Sigmund Freud, in which a person is faced with a fact that is too uncomfortable to accept and rejects it instead, insisting that it is not true despite what may be overwhelming evidence."

Song of the step: "Black Mirror" by: The Arcade Fire.

Song of the chapter: "Cath" by: Death Cab For Cutie.

-x-x-x-

Chapter Five: Bella Swan, Private-Eye.

Like clockwork, Bella Swan started her day. She woke up at five, feeling a little disgruntled still about Rosalie's interruption last night. It had totally screwed with her sleeping pattern, and now she felt drained. Bella always got plenty of sleep on purpose because she hated that hazy feeling one had when they were sleep-deprived. It was not conducive to work.

She showered, dressed, grabbed a cup of coffee on her way out, and was on her way to work by six-thirty. She opened the storefront of the nursery at seven, letting in her two employees, Sofie and Jemma. Sofie manned the cash register while Jemma and Bella went around watering plants and doing a little restocking. Wednesdays were usually pretty slow business days on the whole.

She was watering the section of ferns when her mind came off its rather sleepy course of thought, and actually became coherent. For a minute she allowed herself to muse on her date with Edward tomorrow. Alice had so nicely given them invites to the event she'd planned. Bella had done the floral arrangements, but hadn't expected an invite. It was a nice surprise.

Though she was slightly worried that Edward would want them to revisit the topic of his proposal. It seemed inevitable, judging by the fact that the event in question would be a _fifty_-year wedding anniversary party. She just worried that she wasn't cut out for marriage. And they were still plenty young, being twenty-three and twenty-four respectively. Her mother Reneé had gotten married young, and look how well that had turned out. Her parents had divorced, and her mom had fled town with her when Bella was only a few months old.

Her father Charlie had continued living here in Fernwyck, and Bella had moved back in with him junior year of high school. It had been a decision on her part. Reneé had gotten remarried to a minor-league baseball player, Phil, and Bella had moved so that her mom could travel around for games with Phil. All in all Bella would say that the decision hadn't been a bad one. She'd made a great group of friends, and found her soulmate.

She wasn't even abashed to call him that. It's what they were, her and Edward. It was just the whole marriage thing that fazed her. It seemed unnecessary, but Edward was a traditional sort of man, and as he'd put it, he was ever-anxious to settle down and have a family with her.

She sighed. And now her new friend, Rosalie was pissed-off with her other friend, Jasper. Friend drama was so not what she needed right now, but trust fate to go and do it anyway. Not to mention none of it made sense. Rosalie was beautiful, and even if she was a little rough around the edges personality-wise, Bella still couldn't understand what Jasper's motives were. Another question to be answered.

Edward had been right in noticing it. This was bugging her, and she _was _going to get to the bottom of it. Stick a sign on her office door, she was now Bella Swan, amateur sleuth at-large. Smiling benevolently, she grabbed a fern off the table, flicked some cash at Sofie to pay for it, and then headed for the car. First stop: Jasper.

* * *

She walked up to the classroom door, and opened it without knocking. Bella meant business. And there he was, sitting at his desk, reading some faculty email on his outdated computer, running a hand through his unruly blonde hair.

"Oh hey Bella, what're you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at the nursery?"

"No, well...yeah I am, but I'm on break, it's a slow day...you get it. Anyway, I want some answers," Bella told him, sitting in one of the front-row desks. She placed the fern, her pretext for coming to visit, on the table in front of her, and then entwined her hands on the desk surface.

"About what?" Jasper asked, looking rightly puzzled.

"Well, I want to know first off, what gives about your date? You didn't even kiss her goodnight? And Rosalie personally is wondering why you're putting off sex, but I'm not really so concerned with that as I am the kiss thing," Bella stated, grimacing slightly.

"Surely it's not a requirement to kiss them goodnight. I mean plenty of daters don't..."

"Jasper, all I want is an explanation. Stop trying to avoid the subject."

"I'm not. I was just pointing out..."

Bella gave him a yeah-right look and began tapping the fingers of one hand on the desk. She stuck her other hand in her hair, leaning on that elbow in a fed-up pose. Jasper sighed, clearly wishing he was anywhere but here, and prepared to give her a better answer.

"Bella, all of my love life I have been reluctant. Don't you remember this? I only went on maybe three dates in all of high school, and barely more than that at college. I never, ever kissed a girl on the first date, unless you count a drunken hook-up a first date."

"Not exactly," she sighed disparagingly, still tapping her fingers, creating a staccato background tune for his narrative.

"Well then that's not an astounding total of dates, is it?"

Bella, being the intuitive girl she was, got the feeling that Jasper was trying to tell her something without having to come right out and say it. Typical of men, she mused. Why couldn't they just be open and most of all...cooperative? Why did they have to have such a hard time talking about their feelings? She'd probably never figure that one out.

"I'm still not getting it," she informed him summarily, adding in a stern look for good measure. Just spit it out already, Jasper, she thought inwardly.

"Reluctant," he held up one finger, "doesn't go out a lot," he added a second finger, "waits to have sex." With three fingers firmly in the air, he added in a pleading tone, "Bella, taking this all into account, what conclusions can you draw? I know you're a smart person, figure it out, won't you?"

Bella let out a gasp. "Are you gay?"

"NO! No, no, no...Bella do you really think I'm gay?" he said skeptically.

"Jasper, it was the first thing that came to mind," Bella said truthfully.

"Well, just to let you know, I'm _straight_. So have another guess, just to ease my mind..." he muttered, running a hand through his hair. It was a nervous habit of his, Bella knew, and the look on his face was somewhat sad for her to see. Had she really offended him that bad?

"Um, I know this is a totally bogus guess, but are you engaging in a vow of celibacy?"

"Again, no." Jasper sighed.

"I'm gonna have to tell you, aren't I?" he added mournfully, gazing away into a different corner of the classroom.

"It would be helpful," Bella chimed in.

"Okay, fine. I do all those things because I am reluctant. I am reluctant because I'm already in love, Bella. I love her so much, but she just doesn't see it. Heck, I don't know, maybe she just isn't interested in me! But stupidly, foolishly I have loved her all these years..."

Bella was getting a little uncomfortable with his love-filled declaration. Her heart seemed a dead-weight in her chest, and she knew she was going to hate herself so much for saying this, but it needed to be said. It should be obvious already, but maybe a kick-in-the-pants was what the boy needed.

"Jasper, I like you a lot, but don't get me wrong, I don't like you that way. After all, I am with Edward. I'm really sorry if I'm hurting your feelings..."

Jasper chuckled, a rather unexpected response. Bella was caught off-guard by it. "Bella, I don't love you...well as a friend, a sister even, but certainly not in a romantic kind of way."

Her brow furrowed. "Who then?" He gave her a meaningful look as a last-ditch attempt to not have to speak the words aloud. Damn him, she thought sarcastically...but then inspiration hit her. It would make sense, hell it'd make a lot of sense!

Finally all of it began to add up. Jasper's "mourning" comment, the way he always found time for her, his sad looks, his near-refusal to charm Rosalie, all of it...the truth was, Bella was sure. He was completely and irrevocably in love with Alice, and the poor girl didn't have a clue. It went _unnoticed_, as Jasper had even hinted at himself.

But then that _doesn't_ make sense, Bella mused. How could Alice, always humorously dubbed as "our little omninescent," not know someone was pining for her? Unless she was in denial, Bella added. It seemed the only pliable option. Was she?

"Alice. You love her, don't you?" she said, drawing in her breath in anticipation.

"You said it, not me," Jasper conceded, leaning back in his chair.

"For how long?"

"I'm not even sure, but a long time, Bells."

"Have you ever tried to tell her?"

His eyes seemed to darken at that mention, and his face was passive. His lips were in a thin line on his face, and frankly, he looked almost predatorial. Bella shivered a little and leaned back in the desk seat, to give them a little more space in between them.

"No," he said it like an expletive. "I was going to, but let's just say I never got the chance. That day was horrific, and don't even ask me about it. I love you a lot, but I don't want to talk about it. To anyone."

"All right, you don't have to tell me. But you didn't tell her, correct?"

"No. I did not."

"Do you think she likes you?"

He made a sarcastic little noise that she took to be a laugh.

"I highly doubt it."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**OMG! -cringes-**

**-freaks out-**

**You know how I mentioned Betty Paige bangs last chapter? -bites nails nervously- Well I was just watching the news, and... Betty Paige had a massive heart attack today! That news freaked me out so bad, it's just like deja vu, but scary. It happens to me a lot. I'll think about something, and then the next day or so, it'll happen. (same thing happened when I was writing about a character finding out she was pregnant...and then I didn't know it then, but while I was writing, my cousin went into labor. You might say well she had the baby, she didn't just find out, so that doesn't count...well rethink saying that to me. My cousin didn't know she was pregnant, she's always been a tad heavy, so she thought it was gained weight...and besides, she took a few home pregnancy tests---all negative. So that was freaky to hear. Not to mention I was collabing with another author, and her character's name was Natalee{my cousins' baby's name, just spelt different}****) And now that deja vu thing just happened to me again, so I'm freaked out to be honest.**

**Sorry about the rant-y author's note, but I am stunned.**

**SERIOUSLY. Go check out these two stories: "In The Town of Grafton" by: stavanger1 (Horror/All-Human); and "Something Funny In Forks" by: K. Nowicki! **

**These two are are being beta-ed by yours truly, and I don't offer my services unless I truly love where the author is going with the tale. **

**They're awesome, check 'em out.**

**Votes:**

****

**James: 4 votes****; Mike: 1 vote****; Eric: 1 vote (shudders...); ****Was it A Girl?: 1 vote; ****She's a virgin: 2 votes; ****Emmett: 1 vote; ****Jasper maybe: 3 votes**


	6. The Anniversary Party

Step TWO: "Modern psychologists view **Anger** as a primary, natural, and mature emotion experienced by all humans at times, and as something that has functional value for survival. Anger can mobilize psychological resources for corrective action. Uncontrolled anger can however negatively affect personal or social well-being**."**

Song of the step: "The Kill" by: 30 Seconds To Mars. (check the lyrics, and you'll see why I picked it).

Song of the chapter: "When In Doubt" by: Thousand Foot Krutch. (Awesome song I recently discovered--check the lyrics, you'll go "OH! this fits in real well!").

**Quick note: **The links for Bella and Alice's gowns will be on my profile. I just love those dresses...-sighs contentedly- I'd like to thank KRiSTiNEDAHLiNG and Vi0lentSerenity (Love your prolific reviews, darlings!) Also thanks to K. Nowicki for her awesome insight with this chapter and musiclikelove, who sympathizes with me on our mutual injuries.... ouch.

And this chapter is more than twice the usual length---you all are so spoiled for that reason, but this was an important chapter. Make sure you review!

-x-x-x-

Chapter Six: The Anniversary Party.

The assemblage of the Freedman's anniversary party was a true success. Alice was proud of herself, though she'd never doubted her skills in the first place. This just another job well done. Now she was to see it through by attending the party.

And to be quite honest, she was nervous on several counts.

First and foremost in her mind right now, she was nervous that something would go wrong during the party, that all her plans would be for naught. It was a logical fear, but a strong one. Nothing had ever gone wrong so far in her career, minus one or two hard-to-please customers who were the type of people who would pitch a fit if they won the lottery, but she still worried from time to time.

Secondly, having Jasper as her date made her more than a bit anxious. Luckily for Alice, Bella and Edward would also be in attendance, and that made her feel the slightest bit better. She wouldn't be completely alone as she traversed through the night, walking on eggshells. She felt like a teenager again with her first crush, you know, the one where you can't look them straight in the eye or utter a coherent sentence? And there would be dancing, something that made her especially nervous. It would be so easy to pretend he liked her too when they were on the floor. But she couldn't let that happen. She must spare herself the disappointment the truth would bring later.

And that was why she had to fan herself a few times before she felt relatively normal. She was already at the venue, the Algodon Country Club, as she had spent most of the afternoon and late morning making all the last-minute adjustments, bossing everyone around (cheerfully of course), and making sure it was a success like she had planned. Alice didn't do bad parties, and it was as simple as that.

Bella had gone home briefly to change---she and Alice had driven here early in the morning to help out---and she'd be back with Edward in tow.

Alice was excited. Bella had let her pick her dress, and she'd found this gorgeous forest green gown that made Bella look like a beautiful wood nymph, magical even. For Alice's dress, she had happened upon the perfect dress, a vibrant yellow gown made out of satin with spaghetti straps. Shoes-wise, Alice had consented to let Bella wear matching ballet flats, while Alice opted for more high-end stilettos to go with her dress.

Guests had been arriving for the past twenty minutes, and so far, so good. She was just waiting on the music to start. Once the dancing started up, then everything would take care of itself, and she could begin to relax.

Alice looked around curiously. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves so far, perfect. Edward and Bella had made an appearance, but he was tugging her to the dance floor already. Alice grinned when she noticed the fight Bella was putting up. She needn't be worried though. Edward would make sure she didn't fall or anything. She looked towards the parking lot, and finally, she spotted him.

He took her breath away. His suit may have been a little worn, his tie a little sloppy, but oh he looked so good in it! His blonde hair hung around his gaunt face, unruly but beautiful. She let out a dreamy sigh. This was her lucky night after all…

"Jasper," she noted quietly, even though he was much too far away to hear her.

"Excited?" he guessed as he got within a conversational distance of her. "I mean, this was all your work, after all. Do you like how it turned out?"

"I can only hope the Freedmans do. Personally, I like it, but it's the customers' opinions that matter," Alice reminded him, smiling wryly.

"I cannot fathom how they wouldn't like all of this," Jasper said, gesturing around. "It's amazing!"

"Thanks, Jazz, I appreciate you saying that."

Her smile warmed his heart to see. Well then, if it's stuff like that she wanted to hear, he mused, then I'll be saying it a lot more often. Anything for her face to light up like that. Besides, he really did like what she'd done with it all...

There were glistening little lights strategically placed all around the gardens, and inside of the white marquee were the refreshment tables and the main attraction, the dance floor. A skilled DJ had been hired, and dancing had just begun. A slow, sultry beat started up, keeping in tempo with the nerves that suddenly filled him. Behave, Jasper warned himself.

"Would..you...dance maybe?" he stuttered, mentally cursing himself. It's not that hard to form a coherent sentence around her, is it? Is it?

"Sure," she accepted, smiling.

They walked closer inside the expanse of the marquee, where there was a vacant spot of the dance floor. Awkwardly he placed one hand on her shoulder, the other on her waist. He remembered what his friend had taught him in college. Perry had said that a sure way to the ladies' heart was knowing how to dance well. God Jasper hoped he was right about that...

She felt like a princess. Alice was completely blissful, even though she knew it was only for the duration of the song. As her date, Jasper would feel obligated to make sure they got in at least one dance. That was all she was holding him to. And right now, she was in heaven.

The feel of his arms wrapped around her waist felt so right. It didn't matter that he was over a foot taller than her. That part didn't faze her whatsoever. And who knew he was such a good dancer? Wherever had he learnt that? She didn't know, but strangely she didn't care. She was lost in the moment.

He smiled down at her as the last of the song's notes were being played out. It was a radiant smile, and she returned it, glad he was having an all right time with her too. Two friends just enjoying themselves as best as they could. The other didn't need to know that in his friend's heart, there was a special part dedicated solely to him. No, Alice mused, he definitely didn't need to know how much she loved him. There was nothing men were more afraid of than committment and three little words, "I love you."

The music died down while the DJ picked out a new tune, and everyone either stood around or drifted off into the slowly-darkening night.

"Shall we go get something to drink?" Jasper wanted to know.

Alice couldn't stop smiling, but somehow she found the voice to say, "Sure."

"All right then, let's go."

They walked off the dance floor towards where the drinks were laid out on a table, and she relished the fact that his hand resided on the small of her back, guiding her as they weaved through the crowd of guests, trying not to disturb anyone.

When they drew closer, they found the couple of the hour, the Freedmans themselves, standing by the drinks table, sipping on some champagne. Alice greeted them cordially. "Is it going how you wanted it to?" she wanted to know.

"It's a thousand times better than our imaginations conjured up," Michael assured her, smiling benevolently. Alice's face flushed with the pride of a job well-done, and Jasper grinned. This night was going very well for her so far, and he couldn't help but absorb some of her joy for himself.

"And how about you two? You make such a lovely couple together, dancing like that!" Janine chimed in, sounding rather giddy for such an elderly woman.

She couldn't have fathomed the effects those particular words would have on the two poor souls she had bestowed them on. Alice looked towards Jasper, anxiously, hoping beyond all hope that he did not take any offense at it. Seconds later, he was thinking likewise.

"Oh, um we're just friends. Not a...couple," Alice took it upon herself to explain, which had the effect of dampening Jasper's mood for the next several minutes.

"I'm sorry dear...I just assumed," Janine backtracked quickly, looking a wee bit worried.

"No, it's okay. You didn't know."

"Come along Jan, let's go get some air," Michael suggested, putting an arm around his wife's shoulders. She looked relieved and they said urgent farewells before heading off into the recesses of the garden.

"So...um water?" Jasper asked quickly, looking for some sort of lifeline to latch onto. Alice nodded, and decided it might be best just to be quiet for a little while. Give him some space or something. Maybe that would calm him down...

* * *

Meanwhile, the Freedmans were sitting on a park-style bench in the gardens of the country club, watching the sun go down. It was very peaceful out there, with the quiet that came with not being around their numerous guests. They were going over the awkward conversation with their event planner and her apparently friendly escort.

"I think there's more to it," Michael said suspiciously. "That boy looks at her like he's a blind man seeing for the first time."

"I agree, love. And she was practically bouncing she was so happy. I wonder why they're in such denial about it. There's no reason for them to be," Janine mused.

"If they would start being sensible, then they'd see how much the other wants to be with them too."

"That's the problem, Michael. In their individual minds, they think they're being perfectly sensible as the other surely couldn't ever like them too. So really, they need to stop being 'sensible.' Granted I don't know the whole situation, but the looks on their face said a lot."

"You are smarter than I give you credit for, Jan. You're a regular therapist, you are!"

"Oh Mike, you know I could never..."

"Jan, sometimes the best advice is not the clinical kind. It's the kind that comes straight from the heart."

* * *

"Bella, you're lucky I let you wear flats! My feet hurt!" Alice complained, taking off one stiletto at a time, giving each foot a brief caress before moving on. She wondered why she had thought it would be a good idea to walk around in these shoes all day…or even for a few hours.

"If you hadn't let me wear flats, I probably would've twisted my ankle," Bella noted glumly, sitting in the chair beside her friend. She looked relieved for the night to be over. Now if only the boys would hurry up and get over here...

"What're you relieved for then, the shoes?" Alice had to know.

"No, don't mention this to him, but Edward was…well he was heavily implying things tonight. Like how happy the Freedmans were, and how they've been married for _fifty_ years without incident," Bella explained, rolling her eyes mildly.

"Oh was that what he was up to? Somehow I'm not surprised. I take it you still haven't given him an answer yet?"

"No. It's just I'm not sure, and I don't want to be rushed into a decision. I mean this is marriage, Alice, it's not something that you're supposed to take lightly. The person you marry is whom you intend to spend the rest of your life with, granted you don't get divorced. That's no small thing," Bella stated.

"Yeah, I suppose. But you love Edward, right?"

"Of course I do," she answered, sounding slightly offended. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I'm not saying," Alice chimed, sending her a wry smile.

"What are you implying?" Bella pressed.

"Figure it out on your own. In other news...the Freemans seemed to think Jasper and I were dating. Interesting isn't it?"

Bella's interest perked up again. Time to get the dirt. Like a good sleuth, she knew that Alice's next words could be very insightful as to whether she liked Jasper or not. Plus, Bella thought they both deserved to be happy, and honestly, Bella didn't hate Rosalie, but she didn't like her with Jasper either. They just didn't click. Rose didn't appreciate him and the things he was into, and a relationship would never survive on those grounds.

"Yeah. What exactly happened?"

"Well, we were dancing for starters. The song ended and we were walking off to get something to drink, and we ran into the Freedmans on the fringes of the dancing floor. Then Janine says, 'Oh you two make such a cute couple together, dancing like that!' Of course, we had to explain that we were just...friends, good friends, nothing more. It was so weird."

Bella bit down on her lower lip a little, confused. Great, trust Alice not to give anything away. How was she ever going to know now? Unless she just wasn't interested? And better yet, what the hell had happened when Jasper was going to tell her that had made him so pissed-off?

She didn't know who to ask without giving anything away. She could ask Alice, but if Jasper had never gotten a chance to say anything, how would Alice know about what was going on? And Emmett...it was most likely he didn't know how either of them felt, and plus he wouldn't be able to keep his mouth shut if he did, so Bella knew not to ask him for sure...which left only Edward. Bella trusted him, he was discreet, but she still felt bad about betraying Jasper's confidence. Well crap, Bella thought. Isn't this just the perfect set-up for disaster?

"Bella, are you ready to go home?" Edward asked. He was walking towards her. She noted he had discarded his tie, it was currently poking out of his jacket pocket, and he'd unbuttoned the top few buttons on his shirt. She licked her lips. Was she really this lucky, to have him to go home with? It seemed so.

"Yeah, I guess I am," she said breathily, standing up.

"All right then. Alice, tell Jasper I said goodbye, okay?" Edward asked.

"I'll pass it on," she confirmed.

"Bye Ali, I had a lot of fun tonight. You did such a great job!" Bella exclaimed before allowing Edward to shuffle her off towards the parking lot. Alice smiled faintly. It had gone very well, she mused. For the most part anyways...

She yawned. Goodness she was tired though. She'd been up since the crack of dawn it seemed, checking and re-checking things so the party would go off without a hitch. And now it was all taking a toll on her, especially her feet, which ached from those beautiful shoes she'd worn...well beauty is pain, she repeated again and again, a favourite mantra of hers.

"I'm exhausted," she repeated to no one in particular, stretching her arms over her head in a futile attempt to dispell the yawning. No dice. "And my feet feel like needles are pricking them...lovely," she added pessimistically, glaring down at the limbs in question.

"I'm guessing you want me to take you home then?"

For some reason Jasper was watching her with an amused smirk fixed on his face. She didn't think it was all that funny, though. "If you're not going to laugh at me, then yes. I can hardly walk. That's no laughing matter, mister."

"I wasn't going to," he remarked softly. "Besides, I am a little tired myself, though I can walk. I didn't wear those death-trap shoes after all..."

Alice giggled. "That's what Bella calls them, death-traps."

"I picked it up from her," he joked.

"You two both don't know what you're talking about. Beauty is..."

"Pain," he concluded.

"Exactly! Now would you take me home, Jazz? I am tired, regardless of what shoes I wore."

"All right. I was thinking though, do you want to get something proper to eat? You haven't had a bite of anything this whole time."

"I guess, but I don't want to put you out or anything," she said.

"I can cook...somewhat," he offered.

"Change that 'somewhat' to a 'definitely', and you have me sold," she laughed, her eyes sparkling with merriment. He absolutely loved it when she laughed. The sound of it was one of the greatest forms of music he'd ever heard.

"Definitely then. Come along, Alice, I shall be your chef for this evening."

She smiled, and tried to stand up. Wincing as her feet touched the ground, she looked meaningfully at him, pitifully with those beautiful doe's eyes of hers.

"Would you like to be carried?" he guessed, smiling indulgently nonetheless.

"Please?"

"Grab your shoes," he ordered. She did so, and he opened his arms for her. She wound one arm around his neck, and clasped her legs around his middle. She may not have known it, but Jasper didn't mind carrying her one bit. In fact, from where he was standing it, was a very favorable position for them to be in, with her pressed up against him like that, giving them a closeness he had hardly been able to dream of days ago. For such a little one, she gave off a lot of warmth...

He walked them to the car, where he deposited her and her shoes in the passenger's seat before walking around to the driver's side. Starting up the engine, he backed out of the parking lot, which was about half-empty at the time they chose to leave. Apparently a lot of people were enjoying themselves too fully to leave just yet, and that said a lot about Alice's planning skills.

Jasper was just so proud, and frankly amazed at what she had created. And he had had thought he had a good imagination...it was nothing. She was Da Vinci and he was a lowly street painter. She was Emily Dickinson and he was just William McGonagall...

Around twenty minutes later, he pulled into his driveway, and noticed she was cuddled into the car seat, breathing lightly. Smiling, he wasted a minute watching her sleep. She just looked so peaceful, beautiful, everything. Like an angel...

But he would have to get out sometime. So dutifully he leaned across the centre console and gently prodded her. "Alice, we're here."

Her brow furrowed lightly as she tried to come out of her sleeping stupor, and her eyes had to blink a few times before she opened them fully. "Okay," she said sleepily, tugging at her seatbelt to undo it. He got out of his side of the car, and hussled over to other side to open her door for her. It was how his Mama had said you should treat a lady, and he was on his best behaviour tonight.

Once she was out, he picked her up again, to her inner delight, and carried her inside the house. He couldn't help the errant, romantic thought that he was carrying her across the threshold. Being sensible, Jasper shook his head slightly to rid himself of such fantasies.

He headed straight for the kitchen, and sat her down on one of the oaken dining chairs clustered around his small kitchen table. Once he did so though, he stood awkwardly by the counters, feeling antsy now that she was actually in his house, willingly.

"Um, is there anything in particular you'd like?" he said, saying the words slowly so he didn't stumble over them.

"Not really. You choose."

"Soup? A sandwich?"

"Fine and fine."

"What kind of soup...I have tomato and chicken-noodle."

She giggled slightly. "Tomato."

"What's so funny?" he inquired.

"Nothing, it's just that soup reminds me of kids, you know, and either your Mama or Emmett's would have us kids all over for lunch, and we'd come back from the backyard, ravenous, and they'd always have soup and sandwiches all ready for us?" she reminisced.

"Yeah," he agreed wistfully. "Those were the good old days. Before everything got so complicated."

"Edward still hasn't changed much though; he still doesn't like getting dirty. Remember when we pushed pushed him in that huge mudpuddle? He freaked out! It was so funny, and then Emmett decided we should clean him off with the garden hose?"

"And then he cried because he'd have to get his precious hair wet? Oh yeah, I totally remember that!" Jasper agreed, smiling. Childhood had been a lot of fun. Sometimes he wished he was still a kid...

He hummed to himself while he cooked. She watched him from the chair, slowly taking in every inch of the man she secretly loved. Did he know that he was perfect?

Jasper tried not to peer at her, but every now and then he'd look over at the table, keeping an eye on her. She looked so beautiful in that dress she had on, and the flush of colour against her ivory skin was very tempting. She was a goddess...

It took another few minutes, but soon he had the food ready, laid out on a plate---the soup in a bowl---and he set it down in front of her. She smiled.

"Thanks, but aren't you going to have anything?" Alice asked.

"Not hungry," he said. Because I'm too nervous, he added silently in his mind. You make me so nervous...

"Jasper Andrew Whitlock! You're practically skin and bones, have something to eat," she ordered, a mischievious smirk on her face.

"You sound like my Mama," he muttered before grabbing a shiny, red apple out of the fruitbowl.

"She'd agree with me," Alice sang mockingly, picking up her spoon.

"Probably would..." he agreed, taking a bite of the apple.

She grinned before trying a spoonful of the tomato soup. "Wow, pretty good cookin' for a bachelor!"

"Not all us single men are helpless, you know."

"I never said that. Most can't cook though. I shudder to think what Emmett eats for dinner."

"Aww, Bella makes sure he has a good hot meal most nights, didn't you know?" Jasper told her.

"She's a saint."

"Maybe, just maybe. She'd never agree with us though, you know how she hates attention," he added.

"I never understood that. She's so beautiful and kind, I don't know why she shies away from the spotlight," Alice commented, frowning slightly.

"I don't know either. All I know that she's the genuine article. Great girl."

"Definitely."

* * *

She curled against his chest, yawning slightly. He pulled the blanket tighter around her, bringing it just up to her shoulders, being gentle with her. No need to alarm her, he told himself. "This movie ought to put you to sleep, all right?" he told her, noticing her already drooping eyelids. She nodded, but a stubborn look passed over her face.

The movie wore on, and when he wasn't entranced by the actors on screen, he shot her glances, checking if she had drifted off yet. Somehow, someway she fought her sleepiness, blinking furiously as she struggled to stay awake. Finally he thought he should intervene.

"Alice, I know this movie couldn't possibly interest you. Go to bed," he said soothingly.

"No…it does. It makes me curious," she said, furrowing her brow slightly.

"About what?"

"Was slavery really the reason the war started, Jazzy?"

"No, not really. That was more of what they call a figurehead cause. It was over what a lot of wars are. Land, money, greed. If the South was lost, the United States stood to lose a lot of natural resources and money."

"Oh," she yawned. He smiled indulgently, holding back a laugh.

"Tired?" he asked knowingly.

"No," Alice said petulantly.

"I think you are."

"No," she cried. "I can stay up, I swear!"

His heart gave a faint flutter. At least his company interested her more than sleep. It was a start, if an infinitesimal one. He dared to hope…

"What do you want to do then?"

"I don't know," she conceded, her lower lip stuck out, pouting. It was very distracting. Like she was just begging to be kissed. He bet her lips would be nice and soft…

Fuck… that was distracting. Very clearly he could see himself taking her right here on this couch. Maybe she'd even like it… His eyes glazed over as visions of her naked form, preferably under his spun dazedly through his mind. Panting…screaming…thrusting…

"Jasper?" her sweet little voice inquired. His head snapped up, brought out of his pleasant musings by her words. Breath hitching slightly, he looked at her, his lower body throbbing uncomfortably. His pants were fitting a bit more tightly than he previously remembered…

"What?" he asked hurriedly, working hard to modulate his voice.

"Um, I think I'd like to go to bed now," she said sadly, though he couldn't hardly fathom as to why that would be. He could only see her emotions, not the reasoning behind them.

"Okay. Do your feet still hurt? Do you want me to carry you?" he queried, concerned now.

"No, I'll survive. Good night, Jazz."

She slid off the couch lithely, taking the blanket with her, and traipsed off toward the stairs and inevitably, the second bedroom. He remained seated on the sofa, feeling stiff and unsatisfied, like always.

He sat there for a few more minutes, staring off into the blank silence. Finally he gave up on whatever it was that he had been trying to accomplish, and went to turn off the T.V. Then, yawning slightly, he headed upstairs to unwind.

Jasper stepped in the shower, hating that it had come to this, but really, was he surprised? No. Ever since he'd been a lanky, perpetually-lovesick teenager, there had been incidents like this. She was always the focus of his fantasies, always had been. So surprised? Most certainly not.

He hated his irrationality. Did he really think she would just go and give him a pity fuck or something? He must be crazy, Jasper mused. Though it had been nice just to hold her like that, cuddle innocently. Her warm body leaned into his…it made him feel loved. Like she actually cared. Even if that was just a temporary hallucination.

But now he had a serious problem. No scratch that, a _big_ problem.

He ran his long fingers over his aching member, which gave a little twitch. Carefully he gripped at the base of his dick, closing his eyes as he allowed himself to dream wildly. Dream that she was in his bed, that it was her sweet little hands stroking him while he kissed her senseless. Dream and dream and dream….

He imagined pulling her underneath him and spreading her legs wide so that he could make love to her. She would smile and wrap her legs around his waist, inviting him in. She would be so sweet, soaked with desire, calling out his name as he thrust into her again and again. He would say he loved her, and she would say it back to him…finally.

He pumped himself harder now, giving a throaty moan as he imagined his tongue inside her warm, moist mouth, dominating her own, lips melding together like only lovers could.

"Oh…oh god…Ali," he groaned, stroking furiously as he got closer to his release. The hot water raining down on him only fueled his fire, and god this felt so good!

"Fuck!" he cursed as he came a few feverish moments later, tensing slightly.

* * *

Alice wrapped herself in the blankets on the bed in the second bedroom, pulling the blanket from the couch closest to her skin. She could still vaguely smell his scent on it, deep and musky. It was comforting to her, even though she thought she was being just a wee bit spoony about it.

She hadn't missed his little bout of excitement earlier, though it did hurt her feelings that he would get turned on about another woman when she was sitting right there. Apparently his date with Rosalie had gone better than she'd ever thought it would…

Thus why she felt miserable when she took the chance to ogle him, noting the way his eyes glazed over or how sizeable his arousal was. Truth be told, she was just a little turned-on by seeing him pitch a tent. Even if it wasn't for her. She could always pretend it was, couldn't she?

Alice wondered what he was like in bed. Granted, she didn't have very much knowledge to go on, but over the years she'd gleaned some tidbits from the stories of her friends and co-workers, so she tried her best to picture it. Did he like it rough, or was he a little more sentimental? She wasn't sure, obviously. Her mind conjured up opposing images: romantic Jasper and dominant Jasper. She couldn't even pick which she preferred.

Either, she said to herself. As long as it's him…

Her thoughts drifted back again to him on the couch. She wondered how he would feel inside of her…bad…don't think about that, she chastised herself. But…another part of her mind pleaded…I just wonder if it'd be different. She hadn't had sex for many years, not since high school embarrassingly enough. And Alice couldn't help but question if it would be different now, with a real _man_ as a partner. Developed, muscular…and by the looks of it, he was well-endowed. Christ…I really want him, she thought.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**J'aime trop Jasper. Combien de vous l'aime aussi ? **

**Oh and William McGonagall: Awful, awful poet. In case you were wondering who in the hell he was.**

**Votes:**

****

**James: 4 votes****; Mike: 1 vote****; Eric: 1 vote (shudders...); ****Was it A Girl?: 1 vote; ****She's a virgin: 3 votes; ****Emmett: 1 vote; ****Jasper maybe: 3 votes; Raped: 1 vote.**


	7. Rage, Sleuthing, and Lingerie

Step TWO: "Modern psychologists view **Anger** as a primary, natural, and mature emotion experienced by all humans at times, and as something that has functional value for survival. Anger can mobilize psychological resources for corrective action. Uncontrolled anger can however negatively affect personal or social well-being**."**

Song of the step: "The Kill" by: 30 Seconds To Mars. (check the lyrics, and you'll see why I picked it).

Song of the chapter: "Hysteria" by: Muse.

**Quick note: Glaciers move extremely slowly, according to the video I watched on the Discovery Channel (Yay me! -snickers). Unfortunately my mind---which seems to have taken up permanent residence in the gutter---saw glaciers and immediately thought of **_other_** cold, hard things. (Come on, you KNOW you're thinking what I am!) Oh, to give credit for the quotes I use in this chapter, dues go out to Francoise Sagan and William Hazlitt.**

-x-x-x-

Chapter Seven: Rage, Sleuthing, and Lingerie.

It was the middle of the week when Rosalie started to take over as the grand plan-maker. She had up and decided that her, Bella, and Alice needed to have a "girl's day," one that involved shopping, and lots of it. Of course normally this wouldn't have been a bad idea, minus the fact that Bella hated shopping, but the plan later came to bite two of the girls in the ass when Rose decided her shopping experience just wouldn't be complete without a trip to a lingerie boutique.

This made Bella nervous, and Alice was rather disgusted. Neither wanted to go there, especially when the trip involved Rosalie. But of course the reasons why the trip made them feel that way involved something they couldn't talk to Rosalie about, and that was about her dating Jasper, a particularly sore subject.

Unfortunately, this seemed to be Rose's conversation topic of choice. She apparently was having diffifculties in that direction, namely that Jasper still did not want to sleep with her, a fact that slightly consoled Alice and Bella. _Slightly_. According to Blondie, alias Sex-On-Legs (enough said there), it was only a matter of time before he 'cracked,' and she thought that lingerie would be the catalyst towards that end.

"So, how far _have_ you gotten?" Bella inquired. She still hadn't forgotten her sleuthing mission, and wondered if maybe _this _would provoke a reaction out of Alice, aka Subject B. And to her astonishment, she noted the grim, set expression that settled briefly on her best friend's face. Like she was bracing herself for something, an attack perhaps. Bingo! Bella chanted in her mind, doing a mental victory dance. Finally something!

"Well, yesterday we..._held hands_! Only for a minute or so, and then he let go, but still!"

Bella had to restrain a good chuckle at that one. Somehow she could picture Jasper's tortured expression, mingling with his twisted sense of duty of actually attempting to go out with the girls Alice set him up with, and somehow Bella found that picture curiously funny.

"Holding hands is nothing," Alice remarked rather pointedly, looking more at ease now.

"Well by his standards, holding hands must be a big deal. The man moves with the speed of a glacier! And believe me, I like most people, do not have endless patience..." Rose continued to rant, thumbing through the rack nearest her.

Bella bit back her lip, trying not to say what she desperately wanted to. Alice on the other hand, felt it prudent, and in the interest of being subtle, she only sent Rosalie a scathing look. Words would be much too obvious. Either way though, both of the girls were upset. Alice was frankly furious, and Bella merely irritated.

_Well if you don't have enough patience, then you ought not to be with him_, Alice thought snarkily, rolling her eyes. Why did humans have to be so obtuse? If they were that desperately unsatisified, then they ought to move on!

"Anyways, why don't you two find something for yourselves? I shouldn't be the only one looking for something sexy to wear!" Rose said in an attempt to be friendly and light-hearted, hoping that they'd take it as a joke. But with the current mood the other two women were in, joking was out of the question. Nonetheless, they stood up, glad of a reason to distract themselves, and looked through some of the teddies, upon which they both had rather depressing revelations.

Bella suddenly remembered exactly why she never frequented any lingerie boutiques. They were much too embarrassing, and some of the dresses they had here, they were utterly scandalous, some baffling even. She picked up a scrap of forest-green silk that had all sort of complicated ties, and looked it over, completely discombobulated as to the mechanics of the dress.

"This dress doesn't make any sense," Bella muttered.

"A dress makes no sense unless it inspires men to want to take it off you," Rosalie chanted, barely skipping a beat. "So, would that dress be appealing to Edward?"

"Maybe," Bella said. "If I could figure out how to wear it..." she frowned mildly, turning the dress over again in her hands. It was a nice colour...

"Well, you had better work on figuring that out. A good piece of lingerie can really transform a woman, you know?"

"Those who make their dress a principal part of themselves, will, in general, become of no more value than their dress," Alice said quietly under her breath, remembering the old axiom. It rang quite true for one member in present company, she thought.

She still couldn't believe she had to shop for lingerie with the girl that was dating the love of her life. This was cruel and unusual punishment if ever she had seen it! It sickened her to her stomach every time she imagined them going at it, so it did not help that she would know what Rosalie would be wearing on that particular occasion... Ugh!

Well, there was _one_ silver lining. From what Rosalie had divulged, they hadn't had sex yet. So, that was something to be thankful for, Alice mused. Ooh, and look at this one! She held a electric-blue teddy in her hands, examining it carefully. It was gorgeous, with black lace trim on the skirt and bosom...and well, she knew she was going to buy it, never mind the fact that she had no one to wear it for. She'd wear it for herself and be happy. So there!

"Do you think he'll kiss me, next date Bella? What is he interested in? Give me something to work with," Rosalie pleaded.

"He really likes bowling," Alice chimed in, working hard to keep the mischievious smirk off her face. "He loves it, even though he kind of sucks at it. His average is in the gutter, no pun intended," she added good measure. If she was going to sell this, it needed to sound believable. Hopefully Bella wouldn't call her out...

"Really? I like to bowl...thanks! That could be our next date!" Rose said, and Alice could practically hear the cogs turning in her mind, planning it all out. Oh what a night that would be! Little beknownst to Rose, Jasper actually hated bowling.

"I think I'll get this one," she added, selecting a fuschia teddy for herself. "Gotta try it on first. Just give me a minute---"

Alice and Bella sat on one of the couches just outside the dressing rooms, upon which Bella raised an eyebrow, and decided it was time to intervene. "Alice, do I have to scrub your mouth out with soap? 'Cause I think you just told a little white lie, missy."

"Bella, no, you don't have to and besides, it was for a good cause."

"How so? I'd love to hear you explain that."

"Bella, you know for a fact that she is terrible with Jasper! I am just trying to help speed up the break-up that is practically looming on the horizon!" Alice explained rather vehemently, not even trying to hide her unbridled rage now.

"So this is just you being a good friend?" Bella prodded knowingly.

"Yes, Bella, what else would it be?"

"Nothing," she sighed. "Just curious."

"Anyway, you wanna come over? I think we could carry on a better 'girl's night' at my house, without her," Alice said pointedly, nodding towards the occupied dressing room.

"Um...sure?" Bella conceded, wondering what the hell had gotten into her best friend.

"Perfect. Just keep it on the down low, okay?"

"Righty-o, your majesty," she joked.

Alice smiled. "Well, at least tonight will be fun."

Bella sincerely hoped so. All this rage in the lingerie store was really getting to her. She could really use a little lightheartedness...

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Next chapter: Something you've all been waiting for...**

**-suspenseful music plays-**

**The reveal of who in the bejeezus Alice lost it to!**

**So you really should forgive me for making this chapter short and ANGRY. -persuades-**

**-loves readers for forgiving her- **

**-hint hint-**

**(As A Recap) Votes:**

**James: 4 votes****; **

**Mike: 1 vote****; **

**Eric: 1 vote (shudders...); **

**Was it A Girl?: 1 vote; **

**She's a virgin: 3 votes; **

**Emmett: 1 vote; **

**Jasper maybe: 3 votes; **

**Raped: 1 vote.**


	8. A Discourse On Shame

Step TWO: "Modern psychologists view **Anger** as a primary, natural, and mature emotion experienced by all humans at times, and as something that has functional value for survival. Anger can mobilize psychological resources for corrective action. Uncontrolled anger can however negatively affect personal or social well-being**."**

Song of the step: "The Kill" by: 30 Seconds To Mars. (check the lyrics, and you'll see why I picked it).

Song of the chapter: "Sex and Candy" by: Marcy Playground. (Awesome song, awesome band. Anyone see "Cruel Intentions"? This band has a song on the soundtrack)

**Quick note: I'm pretty sure you're not reading this note, as you're excited to see if your guess was right or not, but ermh, yeah. I wrote this chapter before any other one in the story. It was a big part of my inspiration for this story, oddly enough. So, read on!**

-x-x-x-

Chapter Eight: A Discourse on Shame.

So far the newly-dubbed "Girls Night In" was going well. Somehow Bella had acquiesced to a nearly-complete makeover, and was currently waiting for her toenails, painted a vibrant blue, to dry. Her and Alice were sitting on the bed, chatting, when she decided to revisit an earlier subject.

"Bella, were you telling the truth when you said Edward was your first?" Alice wondered aloud, her voice hitching slightly.

Bella examined her with those curious chocolate-brown eyes of hers. She looked vaguely confused when she answered, "Yeah, I was. Why?"

Alice grimaced. "I was hoping you wouldn't say that."

"Why, did you lie about Ryan What's-His-Name?" Bella guessed.

"Yeah, I did."

"That's okay. Were you embarrassed or something? You can tell me you know. That's what best friends are for," Bella reassured her, but that only made Alice feel more miserable with herself. _Best friends, huh?_ she thought to herself.

"You're not going to like me Bella, after I tell you. And I will completely understand, just hear me out, okay? That's all I ask," Alice told her. "I feel bad enough myself as it is though," she added as an afterthought as she began to recall the gist of the story.

"All right," Bella said, not really sure what she was getting herself into. What did Alice mean anyway?

"I've been perpetually single my whole life. For many years it didn't even bother me, I was happy and content with just having friends. I was just Alice, and that was okay. It wasn't till later, middle school I guess, when I started to see others going on dates, getting their first kisses, and well…doing it."

"Yeah," Bella said encouragingly, remembering that it had been pretty much the same for her as well. Like Alice, it hadn't bothered her much. Not until she met Edward did she really think of having a boyfriend. It didn't become important until then.

"I got into high school as a freshman, and I began to realize that the boys weren't interested in me that way. I didn't have any assets, as one put it quite bluntly. At first I was mad, defiant. Sure that I would prove that jerk wrong and get a boyfriend. Slowly that urge ebbed away, and I was still single going into sophomore year. That was about when I gave up on it anyway. I wanted it still, but I was realistic. I knew that love or even lust wasn't for me. I could hope all I wanted, but I wasn't going to get it."

"Ali, that's not true. I believe there's someone for everyone," Bella said quietly. Alice smiled wryly.

"You know what, Bella? You sound a lot like Jasper sometimes."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Bella asked tentatively.

"Oh Bella, it's the best thing," Alice assured her, her eyes sad.

"Was it him…did you sleep with Jasper?"

"No, I wish… But no, it wasn't him. He and I have never been like that."

Bella wanted to tell her that it wasn't true, wanted to tell her that Jasper liked her more than she thought he did. But now wasn't the time. Like a good friend, Bella would let her tell her story, however much she wished to interrupt. Besides, she had to know who it was!

"So, who was it?"

"I'm getting there. So like I said, I had given up on love. Up until recently I continued to doubt its existence. The thing was, and I know it sounds horrible, I didn't want to die a virgin," she continued, bringing her hands up to cover her face in embarrassment.

"So I asked someone close to me if they'd help…oh fuck this sounds so bad now that I say it out loud. I slept with _Edward_, Bella! I asked him if he'd help me with that, and he did. I swear we didn't enjoy it or anything, it was just a business-type thing."

Bella's eyes widened and she had a hard time keeping her mouth shut. Pictures of them together, naked and thrusting flittered through her mind unceasingly, and she wanted to scream. To hit something. To ask Edward why the hell he had never mentioned this. To ask Alice what the hell she was thinking even though she had just explained it.

She remembered his tone at the brewery a few nights ago. "It should be obvious; Bella and I lost it to each other." He never told anything but the truth…

"You're lying to me, aren't you," Bella accused, "Edward wouldn't lie to me. You heard him. He said he lost it to me. Just like I did with him," she concluded, daring Alice to say anything else but a timid "yes."

"He doesn't want to hurt you, Bella, because he loves you so much. It happened before you even moved here, and frankly, I think he and I both would rather forget about it. It was a horrible day Bella, and as it went on, it just got worse."

Bella was seeing red. Edward had lied to her! How could he do that? Didn't he have a conscience? She had even asked him if he had been with anyone before she came along! They had had a whole talk about it, she'd told him about how she had tried dating Jacob Black, but how they had never made it all the way, and he couldn't even bring himself to fess up about this…indiscretion?

"I almost lost Jasper as a friend that day. If he wasn't half of the man he is, he wouldn't have continued being friends with me and Edward. You see, he had the misfortune to walk in on us, and was understandably disgusted. I mean, who really wants to see their two friends going at it?"

"What?" Bella wondered, coming out of her angry reverie. "He walked in on you guys? Alice!" she said disapprovingly, momentarily focusing on something other than her frustration.

"How was I supposed to know he was going to come over to Edward's house? Or that he wouldn't knock first? Bella, I really wish he hadn't seen that, I do. You have no idea how awful I felt. I thought I wasn't ever going to get the chance to explain…apologize, anything! And I really hated that because…well because _I love him_, Bella! So there!" she finished spectacularly, bursting out into a fit of angry tears, bringing her hands up to cover her eyes again. Her chest heaved with sobs, and Alice knew inwardly that she was a great, emotional mess, and a horrible, wicked person.

Bella cringed as she realized that _this_ had to be what had pissed Jasper off to the point that he wouldn't even talk about it. And she could hardly blame him too... just like she could hardly fathom how he must've felt that day. Devastated. Heartbroken. Pissed. Confused...? No, Bella conceded, that probably didn't even cover it. She herself was beyond any recognizable emotion.

She bit her tongue back, trying not to spew whatever angry words were trying to get out. _BE RATIONAL BELLA!_ a different part of her brain commanded. That same part reminded her that this had happened before she met Edward. Logically, she shouldn't have any problem with it. Emotionally though, was a different story. She was pissed.

How could she stand to be friends with her, how could she condone the lying Edward had done, reiterating that he hadn't been with anyone? How could Alice know otherwise and not have the decency to _mention _it? A little forewarning would have been nice...

And what the hell was with Jasper?

_GOD!_ Bella thought furiously. Talk about drama, and this had taken all of what, two minutes to be told to her? Who knew so many consequences could stem from a single event, a single indiscretion?

She was so flustered she could hardly speak. The part of her brain that was criticizing her behavior now turned to Alice, who was still having a good sob a couple inches down the bed. _She's your friend, and she needs you to be there for her, _it repeated forcefully.

_Damn conscience_... Bella muttered. She sighed and inched a little bit closer to her friend.

"Alice... I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at him. He never told me, he lied," she repeated tonelessly, rubbing her back in an attempt to soothe her. When that didn't seem effective, Bella pulled Alice into a hug, and let her cry into her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Bella. I just was afraid to spoil...what you two had. You two were so happy, and I wanted you to be happy. I... I wasn't, but at least my best friend could be, you know? Does that make any sense?" Alice wanted to know.

"Yeah, in a weird, twisted way it does. But you can't be afraid to tell me these things, Ali. We're supposed to share things with each other, like I do with Edward. Don't ever think you can't tell me something. Unless it's how big my butt looks in a pair of jeans. Then you ought not to mention it," Bella attempted to joke, plastering a wry smile onto her face. Alice giggled slightly, then hiccupped.

Bella laughed, unable to help herself. So many different emotions were coursing through her right now; it was impossible to say which would surface next.

"Okay," Alice murmured, looking sheepish.

"So... I need to have a _talk_ with Edward, it seems. A _big_ talk."

"Yeah, I guess you do."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**I just feel compelled to say...GOTCHA! None of you guessed right on the whole Edward front. Some of you figured Jasper might have walked in on her and someone, but none guessed it would be her and Edward. -does victory dance-**

**Anyhow, how do you all feel about that? Concerned? Disgusted? _Gleeful?_ Let me know in your review.**

**And for you lemon lovers out there, check out my new one-shot "How The Grinchette Got Loose." It's a medley of lustful situations, and I adore it.**


	9. Not The Best of Nights

Step THREE: "**Bargaining** is an agreement between parties fixing obligations that each promises to carry out."

Song of the step: "Jesus Christ" by: Brand New.

Song of the chapter: "She's Got Issues" by: The Offspring.

**Quick note: Wow, I shocked you all! Amazing... Well now we're onto step Three (Bargaining). Moving right on ahead...**

-x-x-x-

Chapter Nine: Not The Best of Nights.

Sometimes lovers have spats. A lot of times they're about something menial, unimportant like who forgot to do the household chores or how one of the lovers never spends enough time at home. Sometimes the fights are bigger, like about how he cheated on her, or how she hates his mom. Then there are the truly unique, couple-specific arguments, like the one Bella Swan was about to bring up with her boyfriend, Edward Cullen.

They were having dinner at his house tonight, and she was looking to breach the topic over wine. She hoped that both the anger and a little alcohol would give her the strength to vent properly. He was a tricky fellow, and whenever they argued, he looked to distract her with his considerable charms, so she needed some encouragement. Bella was determined to let him have it for such a big lie as the one he'd told her.

Oh well, lying by omission, but a lie all the same.

Finding out that he and Alice had slept together, well to put it plainly, had not been the best of revelations. Bella had forgiven her friend, but on Edward's part, it would take a lot more convincing, and a big explanation to earn her forgiveness.

So to glean the best possible reaction from him, during the day and up until she poured the wine, Bella had acted nonchalant, almost uber-calm as she cooked and set the table. Edward had come home from work, unsuspecting, and she'd asked him how his day had went. He said it had been fine, normal, and she smiled prettily at him. They sat down to their dinner, her own version of lasagna, and then she'd poured them each a cup of red wine.

Bella took a long sip, mulling over the things she longed to say in her mind. She needed a good opening line, though admittedly the subject itself would have an interesting effect on her boyfriend. Bella hoped that for his own sake, he didn't try to lie again, or skirt the subject. That would be the final straw right there.

Settling on her choicest words, she said in a deceitfully-sweet voice, rather like the one her Mom used when she knew Bella had done something wrong, "Edward, is there _anything_ you'd like to tell me? Anything you might not have been honest about before?"

The look on his face was priceless.

"Why ever would you ask that, Bella? You know I'm always honest with you, love," Edward said. He was caught so off-guard that his voice sounded flustered, and more than a little anxious. And for the briefest moment, Bella felt strangely empowered. Yep, she thought to herself. I can finish this argument.

"Because, Edward _Anthony_ Cullen, I know you lied to me."

"Bella dear..."

"Don't 'Bella dear' me, Edward," she warned, taking on a dangerous tone of voice; one that meant business. "Edward, I can't marry you if you won't be honest with me. If you want us to share our lives together, you need to share yours as I have done with you."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he added, looking scared shitless. "What did I supposedly lie about?"

"Well..._supposedly_, I might want to call Alice so that she can jog your memory for you. She and I had a nice chat about some old happenings, and I was a little upset about something she divulged. Care to have a guess at what?"

"Oh crap."

"You're getting much warmer, dear," Bella chimed in, taking a steadying sip of her wine. "You really put your foot in it this time Edward. Just confess, explain why, and I may choose to forgive you. Emphasis on the _may_."

"Okay, I confess, I wasn't completely truthful about who I've been with. But I just want you to know that besides Alice, it was only you!"

"I hope so," Bella said, leaving a rather poignant silence in which Edward tried to think of how to save face. Desperately.

"..." Edward paused before sighing. "I guess the best place to start with would be the beginning."

"Most do," Bella added.

"Alice and I were next-door neighbours. Always had been, and we grew up together from the time we were babies until now. We always...understood each other very well. Sometimes we even could communicate without words. We had a unique bond. A friendship one, obviously, not a romantic one. Out of our little group of four, meaning Jasper, Emmett, Alice and I, she and I did our thing, and the boys did theirs."

"Okay, continue."

"We started growing up, and Jasper and Emmett started going out with girls, while Alice and I, we were content being single. Then when we were not quite seventeen, Alice had a bad day at school. I refer to it as the dreaded Valentine's Day incident. You see, Bella, I didn't know, none of us did, but Alice was starting to not be quite so happy being single, and Valentine's Day was especially rough. As she put when she came home crying that day, 'couples everywhere in love, but here I am..._alone_.'"

Bella came down from her power-induced high. She had thought she'd known a lot about Edward and his group of friends, but now he was getting into the _deep_ stuff, the stuff that doesn't make it out in normal conversation. The stuff that you really want to lock away in a box and shove it in the back of the closet. The painful stuff. The inner dynamic of the group.

"I tried to tell her that they weren't in love, it was mostly just lust that fueled their so-called relationships, but she wasn't having none of _that_. She went on to angst about how she was going to be 'stuck in this wretched child's body forever' and how lucky I was to have looks," Edward paused. "I didn't feel lucky at all and didn't for a while. I only started feeling lucky when I met you, Bella, because I knew that all the waiting had been worth it."

She smiled faintly. "I felt the same way, Edward. But please...tell me the rest?" she added gently, almost all traces of anger gone but she was still determined to get it out of him. This was going to be a big thing to overcome.

"I gave up sympathising after a while. It wasn't what she wanted. First she wanted just to vent, and for me to nod occasionally. So I did. Then we watched a movie, very appropriately _Alice In Wonderland_, and she went on about how the Mad Hatter was handsome or something weird like that. She was a bit loopy after the crying.... Then we started watching _Cruel Intentions_. You can imagine. She saw how Sebastian 'tutored' Cecile, and well to put it quite frankly, love, Alice got ideas in her head about something similar."

Bella winced. Somehow she could picture the day, slowly creeping towards impending disaster, and she understood why it was called the Valentine's Day _Incident_.

"So she asked me, as a friend, if I might help her," Edward sounded uncomfortable, "because she sure as hell couldn't ask Emmett or Jasper to. In her words, 'that would be so many kinds of wrong' and as for me, 'I really don't want to ask, but you're my only hope.'"

"I reluctantly agreed. She was my friend and she needed a big favour. It was as simple as that, or rather, it was supposed to be. I'm sure she told you about what happened during that err...favour."

"Yeah, she told me about Jasper...briefly. Did you know why he got so pissed-off?" Bella prompted.

"I don't know. If he told anyone, it wouldn't be me, it would be Emmett," Edward answered, shrugging. A lightbulb went off in Bella's head, and she prayed Edward was right, and that maybe, just maybe Jasper didn't keep it all to himself.

"Hold that thought," Bella said, reaching for the phone. Edward looked at her quizzically.

"Why?" he asked, sounding confused.

"Because Edward, you know what, hold on. The line's ringing, I'll tell you about it later..." she answered evasively, waiting for Emmett to pick up.

"Hello Eddie," a familiar voice said.

"Actually Em, it's Bella. Do you have a minute?" Bella inquired sweetly.

"Always, kid. What did you wanna know?"

"This may be hard to remember, but did um, Jasper ever get really pissed-off when you guys were...oh I dunno, around seventeen?" she queried in a would-be nonchalant manner. Come on, pull through for me, she thought while crossing her fingers. Edward however, was sitting at the table, still in the dark as to why she cared so much.

"Uh, hard to say. The teenage years were rough on us all...but I guess he was pretty mad this one day. Think it was V-day or something, he was muttering like a madman when he came over to my place to hang out."

"Did he say anything intelligible?" she pressed.

"Not much. Kind of just random stuff like 'why do I bother?' or 'how could I not see?'. Personally I thought he was off his rocker, suggested he get glasses if he was having vision troubles, but he didn't take that too well. He said to me, 'Have you had her too?' and I was all like 'Dude, who _are _you ranting and raving about?' Then he clams up, doesn't say anything back, and then we watched Sportscenter, the cure-all for women troubles. No offense, Bell."

"None taken. I can see why Charlie likes it so much now," Bella said, a filler statement while she mulled over what Emmett had said.

"Well anyway, if that's all you've got to ask, I'm gonna go knock down some pins..." Emmett said.

"Huh?"

"Go bowling, Bella. Geesh kid, thought you were hipper than that," he commented, chuckling at his own joke.

"Okay, get a lotta strikes," she finished lamely. "Bye."

Once she hung up the phone, Edward immediately pounced. "So, mind filling me in _now_? Surely this can't all be to back up my story. What's with Jasper that's got you all worked up? I hope I don't have to remind you that you said you wanted us to share things with each other..."

"Edward, it's like this," she sighed. "Jasper loves Alice. I needed to know just how bad the situation is, because I'm trying to fix it. She loves him too, just thinks he doesn't/wouldn't be interested in her like that. They're both in denial, it's all majorly messed up, and I've been trying for the last week or so to make it work. I've asked around to find out what their issues were, and how I might go about rectifying it. That day when he walked in on you two, he was going to tell Alice that he loved her. I think he must have guessed that if she wasn't at her house, she'd be next door hanging out with you. So he unexpectedly saw you two having a go at it, whether for pleasure or not, it really upset him.

"So then according to Emmett, he went over there next, fumed, and cryptically snapped at Emmett, basically asking whether he and Alice had something on the side too. This I've only been able to find out from you three. When I asked Jasper about it at first, he wouldn't tell me because he was still pissed, to this very day. So Edward, I'd say I have my work cut out for me. Oh and by the way, Alice sets him up with girls on purpose so that 'he can be happy.' Yeah..." Bella finished, taking a deep, steadying breath.

"Double-crap."

"You said it," she added.

"Well I guess I really have put my foot in it. No wonder he was so snappy when Emmett asked around. He was probably thinking of _us_...great," Edward said, looking deeply concerned with it all. "So I assume you're flustered about what step to take next?"

"Yeah, pretty much. I feel like I've hit a dead-end," Bella admitted, nodding.

"Let's drink some more wine. Maybe inspiration will come," he suggested. She shook her head at the notion, but followed suit. It's not like she could think up anything better than that anyway....

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**I had so much fun writing that argument featuring Bella!Badass. Almost an indecent amount of fun. ;)**

**Emmett reminscing was also indecently fun to write. Love ya, teddy.**

**And I did not calculate the time figuring when "Cruel Intentions" came out to when they were 17. So that's probably off, time-wise.**

**Also, originally I was gonna write the bowling fiasco in this chapter, but I decided to put in the next chapter. Hope that's A-OK.**

**Make sure to review, cause I am a review ho, and well.. you **_know_** you want to speak your mind! **


	10. Wanna Know Something Funny?

Step THREE: "**Bargaining** is an agreement between parties fixing obligations that each promises to carry out."

Song of the step: "Jesus Christ" by: Brand New.

Song of the chapter: "Electric Feel" by: MGMT. (Check this band out, they've got a nice sound.)

**Quick note: It seems y'all liked the argument with Bella & Edward last chappie. Good to hear, because I really enjoyed writing it. ;) Oh yeah, and I recieved the freaky news that Betty Paige died a few days back. How's that for creepy coincidences?**

-x-x-x-

Chapter Ten: Wanna Know Something Funny?.

"So, where do you want to go tonight?" Jasper had asked Rosalie when he had gone to pick her up that evening. To his chagrin she had ultimately decided upon going bowling. Bowling of all things that they could be doing! As if he needed another thing to make the night harder for him.

The truth was, Jasper knew that Rosalie had certain...shall we say expectations. All girls did in some measure, but hers were especially unforgiving for going slow. She just wasn't a slow sort of girl. And knowing that, he had been debating with himself just how far he was willing to go with this. He didn't want to upset her, she was nice enough when they weren't on a date, but he knew himself, and he obviously wasn't interested in her that way.

So far they had held hands. In that instance, he had been trying to live up to her expectations in the smallest way possible, and besides, holding hands was _nothing_. So he didn't have to feel guilty about it, which was a plus. Still, it had been uncomfortable, and so the gesture had been shortlived. But what now?

It's quite possible that he might have to cut the cord with her soon, but that just created the problem of letting her down easy. He definitely did not want to sour her relations with him or any of his friends, whom she might be cold to if he broke up with her. This was a dilemma, plain and simple.

Jasper supposed that there was one good thing about bowling. You had to take turns, and so whether it was her up to bat or him, he'd always have time to think over what he was going to say or do. This was perhaps the only good thing about the sport. Overall, he hated it because it was so pointless. You stand up, and throw a ball down a lane. How interactive was that? Not at all, he thought. There's no excitement like in baseball where you're trying to make it around the bases before you're struck out, or football where you're trying to get a touchdown before you're tackled or forced out of bounds. Bowing was lame, and you had to wear the most god-awful shoes to play it.

So he was not looking forward to tonight's date, not one bit.

* * *

About an hour in the going was slow, and Rosalie had gone into the restaurant to get some drinks. There was a waitress hanging about the counters, surveying the people out on the lanes with an amused look on her face. Her gaze turned to Rosalie as she approached, and she looked as if she had been waiting for a chance to see her.

"Ha...you wanna know something funny?" the waitress asked, a wry grin on her face. Rosalie was confused. What was she talking about?

"Excuse me?"

"Look, um have you gotten very far with that guy? Are you having any luck?"

"I'm afraid that I'm gonna have to ask what in the hell you mean, Lynn," Rosalie stated primly, glancing at the waitress' nametag.

"I went out with him in high school, and so did a couple of my friends. None of us ever lasted very long, and as far as I know, no relationship he's ever had has. So naturally it causes me to wonder if he's reformed since then. That's all I'm saying," Lynn answered matter-of-factly.

"We haven't been dating for long, and well no, we haven't gotten all that far. So, is there anything I ought to know?" Rosalie asked, intrigued now. Well this was new, she mused. Maybe this girl has some info I don't, like why he always has to go so slow...grr.

"He's like a brick wall as far as intimacy goes, but I'm sure you must've figured that one out by now. Takes him forever to get around to holding hands or kissing you on the cheek even. I'm not even sure I'd want to know how long it takes him to get around to sex. I wouldn't be much surprised if that boy was a virgin all throughout high school. I'm guessing he had to have gotten some since then, but who could've inspired him to get it up, I have no idea," Lynn ranted somewhat sourly as she went through old memories.

"He said he got a drunk lay in college, and that was his first. He didn't sound too chuffed about it though, which was weird because what guy doesn't like to brag about sex, never mind liking it. I mean it's essential _somewhere_ for them to like getting laid because otherwise how can they get an erection?" Rosalie added.

"I know!" Lynn said enthusiastically. "You're a girl after my own heart, that's exactly what I always thought."

"I'm just stating the obvious, sister."

"Anyhow, he's a coward when it comes to breaking up. Generally back in school he did it over the phone, and kept a low profile for a day or so afterwards. I don't think he lasted more than a month or two with anyone... frankly by the time graduation rolled around, me and my girlfriends thought he _had _to be gay. I still think so, but why go through the charade even now? I can understand him wanting not to lose face in high school, but now that he's an adult, why not just be honest about it instead of wasting girls' time?"

"I don't know. But do you really think he's gay? I mean sure he's unresponsive in a relationship, but other than that, he seems like any normal straight guy. He's fun to hang around when it's us and other people, and personally I just have a hard time seeing him as homosexual," Rosalie said thoughtfully.

"Yeah yeah, but you know what they say about serial killers and such: it's always the one you'd least expect, right? So maybe he seems on the up-and-up but is too self-conscious to be honest. 'Cause to put it bluntly, why wouldn't he shag a perfectly fine woman like yourself by now?" Lynn chimed in, raising an eyebrow for emphasis.

"Trust me, I ask myself that all the time. He even got a nice peek down my shirt on our first date, and ended the night with a freaking kiss on the cheek!"

"Sacrilegious," Lynn muttered.

"Lynn, order up!" the chef squawked. Lynn turned around, gave him a curt nod, and then turned back to Rosalie.

"Duty calls," she said, rolling her eyes. "Have fun with him. Tell me if he comes out of the closet anytime."

"I'll be sure to, thanks for the info."

* * *

"Well fancy seeing you two lovebirds here!"

"Fancy seeing you here too, Emmett," Jasper said. This could be a good thing, he mused. Now he wasn't all on his own with this girl.

"I thought you hated bowling, Jazz-man," Emmett pointed out, giving him a look that clearly said 'Jig's up.' From how Emmett was acting, Jasper figured he thought he was whipped or something, trying to impress his date by doing something he wasn't all that fond of. The truth? That's not what was going on clearly, but let Emmett think what he wants to.

"I don't hate it, it's just not my favourite thing to do."

"That's funny, Alice said you loved it," Rosalie chimed in as she came back to the table after bowling a collective '6' on that turn. Jasper looked at her, confused.

"When did she say that?" he asked.

"The other day when us girls went shopping. What's it to you?"

"Nothing, I just wondered," he muttered.

"What are you bowling so far?" Emmett asked Rosalie, who started pointing out her numbers on the screen. They weren't bad, but they weren't excellent either, just sort of average to tell the truth.

"Aww, I know you can do better than that. Here, on your next turn, I'll help you out. I'm an expert," he said confidently, grinning like a fool.

"Really? Thanks!" Rosalie remarked.

Jasper was pretty sure that he ought to be concerned about Emmett "teaching" Rosalie how to "improve her aim" as far as bowling went, but frankly, Jasper couldn't care less. He was sitting back in one of those swivelly chairs, looking blankly at the scorekeeping screen.

He was upset, and more than a little confused. Why did Alice tell Rosalie that he liked to bowl? Alice knew he didn't like to, so why did she go and lie about it? Did she purposely want to torture him or something? What had he ever done to her? _Ha_, he thought sarcastically. That's my problem right there. I haven't done anything to her, no matter how much I think about it or want to. It's because I'm pathetic.

Now that he looked at it, Emmett was getting quite close to her, and if Jasper didn't know any better, he would think Emmett was putting the moves on _his_ date. Hmm, he pondered, this could possibly get me off the hook. Lovely. But first he decided that he'd let it play out on its own. So he made up a game plan: get those two drunk, and let them fall all over each other. Then I can be all gracious and say "Why don't you guys just go out?" and I'm homefree!

Jasper congratulated himself on such a brilliant scheme. Pity Emmett hadn't gotten friendly with her earlier, say maybe before Jasper was roped into asking her out? It would have saved him a _lot _of trouble.

Another game and a half later with Emmett as third player, the two of them had drunk a sufficient amount while Jasper played designated driver. He noticed that the two were very flirty with each other, keeping up some competitive bantering as each had their turn bowling. This made him very pleased, though he just couldn't keep his mind off the fact that it had been Alice who had lied to Rosalie. She knew him, she knew he didn't like to bowl, so why the little white lie?

Frankly it bugged him, mostly because she was usually looking after him, not trying to make his life miserable. Wasn't it she who had made him go out on all these days anyway, in the hopes that one girl would stick? This didn't make sense, he thought. And I don't like it....

He had to get to the bottom of this.

"Hey ermh, you guys, I'm gonna step outside to make a phone call, so I'll be right back, okay?" he told Emmett and Rosalie, who nodded and waved him off, clearly too engrossed in the little game they were playing to care.

He went outside, pulling his phone out of his pocket as he went. There was really only one person he could trust to ask about this, and who wouldn't question why he asked about it. His fingers skimmed over the buttons, dialing a familiar number.

* * *

"You really have outdone yourself with this lasagna, Bella dear," Edward commented, spearing a bite on his fork.

"Compliment me all you want, Edward, you're not out of the doghouse yet..._sweetheart_," Bella replied, taking another long draw from her wineglass, savoring the aged flavour. It was so typical of him, she thought. He thinks that laying on flattery will just magically solve everything. How wrong he is....

The phone began to ring from where she'd left it next to her on the dinner table. Puzzled, she checked the caller ID, and saw it was Jasper. Who was supposed to be on a date, she added in her mind. Oh, what now? she thought distractedly, setting down her wine. She picked up the phone and pressed 'talk'. "Hey, what's up?"

"I just have one minor question for you," Jasper said on the other line, sounding strange.

"And what would that be?" Bella inquired.

"Why did Alice lie to Rosalie? I mean I _know _she knows I hate bowling! Why did she have to go and do that? Is she trying to make me miserable? I mean Jesus, I thought she was supposed to be looking out for my best interests. We're friends, and friends don't send friends on bad dates, intentionally at least!" he ranted, his voice growing more and more ticked-off as he went.

Bella stood up to take the call into another room. Edward decided it would be best not to ask what the call was about until she got back, so he turned his attention back to his own dinner, starting on the green salad finally.

"Jasper, okay just calm down, for starters. Are you still on the date?" Bella asked, sitting down on the chair in the living room.

"Yes, and Emmett showed up here. He's bowling with us."

"And how's that going?" Bella pressed.

"Really well for the two of them, and in a roundabout way, it's good for me too, you know? I was thinking that...well I'm almost sure that Emmett likes her, and maybe he could...take her off my hands. That's my plan anyway. They're very tipsy right now, so we'll see what happens," he finished, sighing.

"You're devious," Bella told him. "But are you _sure_ Emmett likes her? Like really sure?"

"Yeah, I mean he was practically all up on her when he offered to show her how to quote 'improve her aim' end quote. And she was just oh-so willing, it would have made any real date jealous. Jealous enough to start a fight, I think. But you still haven't answered my question, Bella."

"Oh, sorry. I hope that little plan goes well for you. But in all honesty, I don't know why she told Rosalie that. Maybe she thought it might be a fun date. Maybe she forgot you hate it. Maybe it's her idea of a joke?" Bella suggested mildly. She didn't think it would be a good idea to tell Jasper the truth. This was a precarious situation, and the two of them couldn't be forced together. Let Jasper and Rosalie break up on their own, and then Bella would slowly put her two friends together. It was the best plan she could come up with at the moment.

"I...maybe. It's just that Alice doesn't forget things, Bella. You know it's true," Jasper replied miserably.

"She's only human Jasper, like we all are," Bella reminded him. "I'm sure that even she forgets things once in a while."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**I've got two quaint little stories (quaint? yeah right) going right now called "The Adventures of Alice In Smutland" and "Naughty And Blessed Be The Family That Shares". **

**(PS: I GOT MY FIRST FLAME FOR THE SECOND STORY TODAY! -smirks- It said: "you are a dirty minded creep" and it was an anon. review from someone called "becca." Well Becca, I won't deny I have a deliciously dirty mind, but it's not nice to call me a creep, honey.)**

**She really ought to stick to the "Don't Like, Don't Read" policy, don't you think?**

**-laughs-**

**Anyway, that sort of amused me to see.**

**So if **_you_** like the smut + a little humour, check them out!**

**Make sure to review, cause I am a review ho, and well.. you **_know_** you want to speak your mind! **


	11. I Hope You Didn't Think This Was Over

Step FOUR: "In the fields of psychology and psychiatry, the terms **depression** or **depressed** refer to both expected and pathologically chronic or severe levels of sadness, perceived helplessness, disinterest, and other related emotions and behaviors."

Song of the step: "Enthused" by: blink-182.

Song of the chapter: "Dumb" by: Nirvana.

**Quick note: We're starting to get somewhere, aren't we? -winks-**

-x-x-x-

Chapter Eleven: I Hope You Didn't Think This Was Over.

"So what was that all about?" Edward made a point of asking as his girlfriend came back into the dining room, phone in hand.

"Jasper. He's upset, big surprise. Kind of pissed off with Alice I think...apparently he found out that she was the one who told Rosalie to take him out bowling, and well yeah he hates bowling so..." she trailed off, sitting back down at the table.

"When did she say that?" Edward pressed. "And better yet, why?"

"When us girls went shopping, and as to why, she said she was 'speeding up the break-up that was practically looming on the horizon.'"

"So she's trying to break them up?"

"Edward, isn't that what I just said?" Bella inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Not in so many words," he countered.

"Oh don't be difficult!" she remarked, shooting him a look. He sat back in his chair rather abruptly, earning him a triumphant smirk. To be quite honest, if it weren't for all the drama, Bella would be enjoying herself a little too much. Edward was always the one in control of their relationship, and at least for now, she got to have her say. Well, she mused, the man may be the head, but the woman's the neck, enough said there.

"But anyway, _yes _she is trying to break them up, not in her usual subtle manner, I must say," Bella added. "I fear this is just going to be a setback. I just hope that Jasper doesn't do anything stupid. In fact..." she paused for a moment, "Edward, how would you like to take me bowling?"

"I won't be responsible if you drop the ball on your foot," he made sure to tell her. "But I'd love to take you bowling, Bella."

"Ha, you're such a crack-up. I may be clumsy, but at least I'll be smart enough to pick the lightest ball. That way if such a event occurs, I can save myself a little bit of misery. Let's go though, I don't trust those kids to play nice," she concluded, standing up.

* * *

A little over twenty minutes later, Bella Swan was very displeased. So displeased in fact that she was stomping her feet rather abusively against the wacky carpeting in the bowling alley, phone held up to her ear as if it was glued there, and all the while Edward kept his distance, not wanting to get involved.

"I swear to God that if he doesn't answer the goddamn phone, I am going to kick his pansy ass!"

No, Edward thought. Best just to let her get it out on the carpet. Poor carpet, he added in his mind.

"Answer the phone!" she growled into the mouthpiece of her mobile. "Argh, and change your ringtone!"

"Dude, I think she needs a pill or something," Emmett commented from the next chair, wavering slightly. He was completely piss-drunk, and it appeared that in the interest of safety, Edward was going to have to drive him home. "Or wait no...you don't have like a taser on you, do you?"

"No Emmett, just because I'm a detective does _not_ mean I go everywhere armed, especially not a bowling alley," he reminded his friend for what had to be the hundredth time. Ever since Edward had got the job, Emmett was always curious about the weaponry involved, and clearly thought that off-duty-officers were strapped like S.W.A.T. 24/7.

"He's such an idiot, such an idiot...gonna strangle him I swear...fucking idiot," Bella continued to rant, hitting the redial button on her phone every few seconds like it was a compulsion or something. Edward had never seen her so...animated or seen her swear so much. He hoped that for Jasper's sake, he would pick up soon.

"Hey dude, let's bet. Whaddya think his ringtone is?" Emmett asked loudly, which only earned him the glare-of-death from Bella.

"Like I would bet on that, we both know what it is, _Hurricane_. Bob Dylan. Classic," Edward answered.

"Ha I was right! I bet that you would know what it was!"

"Emmett, that's completely absurd," he added, raising an eyebrow. "Besides, I didn't even agree to bet with you, the terms weren't set, etcetera."

"Huh?" he said.

"Never mind. You're way too drunk to understand, so never mind," Edward muttered. "Bella honey, I don't think he's going to pick up, and frankly, I think we'd better get our friend here home before he hurts himself."

"Fine. But I am talking to him!" she said like it was a threat or something. "What the hell does he think he's doing anyway? Doesn't he know better than to try the old jealousy strategy? Effing idiot."

"I think you may have had a little too much wine," Edward murmured. "But in any case, let's go home."

"Yeah, come on Teddy, let's get you back to the bear cave," she joked with Emmett.

"BatCave, Bella," he corrected her.

"Do you want me to call you Batty now?" she asked, confused.

"No, I'm still Teddy. It's just that Batman had a fucking awesome layer, better than some ole' cave in a forest. I'm talking high-tech here, with like cars and bombs, guns, cars, and bombs!" he added enthusiastically.

"Okay, okay, to the BatCave," Bella amended.

"And away!" Emmett couldn't help himself, chuckling loudly at his little tack-on at the end. Edward rolled his eyes.

"Let's go home," he said firmly.

* * *

**This chapter is short, but it just came to me so I decided to go ahead and post it. Show me some lurvvve with reviews. Next chapter will be longer, cause... -puts in snotty voice-**

**People got some 'splaining to do! -snaps fingers in Z formation-**


	12. I Know A Night That Never Ends

Step FOUR: "In the fields of psychology and psychiatry, the terms **depression** or **depressed** refer to both expected and pathologically chronic or severe levels of sadness, perceived helplessness, disinterest, and other related emotions and behaviors."

Song of the step: "Enthused" by: blink-182.

Song of the chapter: "Santeria" by: Sublime (For fun, lol. It's the perfect song for a bit of kick-ass mode anger with a dash o' humour on the side).

**Quick note: I know I updated quickly, but I'd appreciate a review for both Chapters Eleven and Twelve. Pretty please? -insert puppydog pout-**

-x-x-x-

Chapter Twelve: I Know A Night That Never Ends.

"I do _not_ believe this!" Bella said as they drove up to the car sitting in the ditch. Jasper and slightly unbalanced Rosalie were leaning up against the car, waving them over shamefacedly, well at least on his part.

She was the first one out of the Yukon, nearly jogging over to the two of them, looking like a woman with a mission. Edward and Emmett followed in a slightly slower fashion. "Hey Dimples!" Rosalie greeted the latter, who chuckled at his new nickname.

"All right mister, what the fuck are you doing?" Bella asked Jasper, pulling him off to the side away from the others. He took one look at her expression and caved.

"Trying a new tactic. She never seems to do anything, so I thought that if Alice could see I might actually be seriously dating this girl, she'd...react," he answered. "Except that I forgot that Rosalie's forward and apparently Drunk!Rosalie is downright bossy. We were driving home, well I was driving her home, with the intention of taking her out tomorrow, maybe flirting a little so that when she talks to Alice and you, Alice gets it."

"I hope I don't even have to tell you how _stupid_ that plan is," Bella remarked darkly, folding her arms over her chest. He gulped before continuing.

"Like I said, I think it will at least make her see reason. I'm not going to have sex with her or anything, just be flirty. However, Rosalie had other plans in the car, and she literally tried to grope me while I was driving. I pushed her hand away, and then she puts her head in my lap. I hate to say it, but I freaked out, and that's how I drove into the ditch. She was trying to like...blow me, Bella! I don't know why she thought that this was the right moment, but it was scary!"

"Apparently she's a horny drunk. Some people are, Jasper. But well..."

"Was I the only one not invited to this little pow-wow?" Alice inquired somewhat heatedly, walking up with her purse under one arm and an unhappy expression on her face. Bella went over to cut her off, pulling her off to the side away from the rest of them.

"Alice, what may I ask are you doing out at this hour?" Bella asked.

"Bella..." she began to whine. "None of your business."

"I don't care, and now I'm more suspicious. If you're as innocent as you want me to believe, you wouldn't be telling me it's none of my business," Bella pointed out, giving her friend an appraising glance that clearly said: fess up missy.

"I think Emmett's about to fall over, I think I'll go make sure he stays awake," Alice tried to make an excuse, but Bella wasn't buying any of it.

"He's a big boy, he'll be fine. Stop avoiding the subject."

Alice remained determinedly mum on the matter. "Mary Alice, if you don't tell me what you were up to, I may just have to take desperate measures. And as Edward has told me, I drank too much wine, and unfortunately for you, it makes me reckless..." Bella began ominously.

"Okay, okay, fine I'll tell you. But in my car, come on." She led Bella to her car which was parked slightly behind Edward's Yukon, and the girls got in, her in the driver's seat, Bella on the passenger's side. Even then, it took her a minute or so to start spilling the beans.

"So I was um...at the alley tonight."

"Alice!" Bella said disapprovingly. "What possessed you to do that?"

"I was bored?" she tried. But Bella wasn't buying that either. "I had a plan? Err...plot?" she amended upon Bella's yeah-right stare. "Okay fine so I was plotting, and hanging out there when I ran into an old schoolmate of mine, and convinced her to do something for me..."

Meanwhile Edward and Emmett were watching the girls talk, but the moving of lips and gesturing of arms was unintelligible. Then at one point, Bella's gesticulations became increasingly violent-looking in nature, almost to the point of actually slapping her best friend.

"Man she looks pissed. I don't think you're getting laid for a while," Emmett felt the need to say.

"She's not mad at me...well she is but that's not why she's freaking out right now. I'd say Alice made some sort of bad move."

"What do you mean, she only just saw her now. What could Tink possibly have done in the space of a minute?"

"Uh..." was Edward's brilliant answer. He was pretty sure Bella wanted to keep Emmett in the dark about her scheming, at least for now, so he just left it at that.

"ALICE!" Bella raged. "Why on Earth would you do that? I thought you were going to let them break up on their own. You already sent him on a bum date, but you felt the need to up the ante by having some punk waitress hint that he's gay?! My god woman are you insane? This is not going to end well, and from where we're at right now, I'd say your little stunt only provoked the opposite reaction! Do you know why they drove into the ditch?"

"No," Alice answered timidly.

"I'll let you hear it when my dad does. He should be here any moment, Fernwyck's not the hardest town to navigate," Bella concluded, still shaking a little with the extent of the feelings she was experiencing. Alice was messing up the plans, Jasper was messing up the plans...they were both screwing up everything!

At any rate, Bella was right and it only took Chief Swan six minutes to arrive in the squad car and start assessing the situation.

"So what happened, exactly?" Charlie inquired, pulling out his notepad. The look on Jasper's face would have been priceless if didn't incriminate him in Bella's mind. Even though she already knew what had happened, it didn't make it any easier. This is not going to end well, she thought miserably. Alice is going to flip. But it was partly her fault he felt compelled to get himself into this situation....

"We were driving along, and uh she...she uh," he gestured in a completely flustered manner at Rosalie, whose face held no apology.

"She uh what, Mr. Whitlock?" Charlie pressed. Bella put a hand to her face. Great...now Dad had to go and play tough cop. As if this could any worse....

Noticably Jasper's face blanched, and the look on his face made clear that he wished to be anywhere but here. When he opened his mouth to answer, his answer was unintelligible at first because he was speaking so quietly. Finally with a glance from Charlie to "embolden" him, he managed to choke out, "She...me...hand...mouth...surprised."

"Oh," Charlie remarked, shifting on his feet uncomfortably as he scribbled down this revelation on the notepad. "I see."

He asked a few more questions, noticably avoiding the whole what-they-were-doing factor. Then he did a field sobriety test, which Jasper passed easily, and then they called a tow truck. Everything seemed to be wrapping up for the night when Edward noticed that the group was two short.

"Emmett, did you see where Bella and Alice went off to?"

"Nah, I was too busy watching Jazz-man's interrogation. Hilarious stuff really."

"Damn it," was all Edward could say. "Alice," he added as an afterthought.

"You three, Yukon, now."

"Oh that's right, I almost forgot your pretty ass was driving us home. Wanna play a game as we go?" Emmett quipped, seemingly impervious to Edward's if-you-like-life-then-you'll-shut-up glare.

"No I do not. You three, Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, better get in the car before I decide to make you three _walk_ home."

"Thanks Edward. Come on Emmett, let's go sit in the back seat..." Rosalie giggled, clearly smashed herself. Emmett of course accepted her offer heartily, and Jasper ended up riding shotgun on the rather tense ride home.

Not a coherent word was said past that point.

* * *

"Ali, seriously. It's not like he...enjoyed it or anything. I mean they didn't even do the whole deed, she just caught him off guard when she tried to initiate things!" Bella tried to reason with her friend as they entered Alice's house. She was sobbing by this point, completely distraught, pissed, and a little peeved at everyone. As soon as she had heard Jasper's explanation, she had stormed off to her car, Bella hot on her heels.

"Don't even try to play it off like that Bella, he must have enjoyed it. I've seen him when he's daydreaming about _her_, he freaking pitched a tent, so don't try to tell me he didn't enjoy it. The jackass has probably been waiting for this to happen, and as for driving off the road, he was clearly enjoying it TOO much!" Alice ranted, plopping down onto her couch, curling her legs beneath her. Bella sat down beside her, and handed her the afghan blanket that was lying over the back of the couch.

"I don't want that blanket," she snapped. "It's his, and I don't want it any more!"

"Alice you're being irrational, it's just a blanket. Take it. I know that curling up under a blanket always helps me, so take it off my hands, will you?" Bella stated firmly. Alice took it grudgingly, just holding it instead of laying it over herself. Bella sighed and took it back from her, fluffed it out, and placed it over her lap, looking at her pointedly.

"Okay," Bella said. "Now why don't you tell me what's really bothering you? You're awfully upset, there has to be something else bugging you."

"Bella, it hurts. I can never be what she is! She's tall, blonde, gorgeous, and she has perfect boobs! How can I compete with that?"

"Alice, your boobs are fine. They're actually quite big for..."

"That's exactly why. Big breasts don't look good on people as short as me. It makes us look slutty!"

"That's not true," Bella reiterated. "Not one bit."

"Hers are perfectly proportioned though!"

"Getting off the subject of Rosalie's breasts..." Bella interceded forcefully, "Let's talk this out some more. So you're upset because of looks?"

"Looks, sex appeal, experience, all things I don't have... I'm practically a virgin except for well you know who," Alice remarked sourly as she reminisced.

"I thought the same thing when I first met Edward, and look how good it's turned out. Alice, please don't underestimate yourself. It's just wrong. You're pretty awesome you know. You take care of us all, you want to make sure we're happy, and you're fun to be around. That's so much important than petty sex appeal," Bella explained.

"Look, now that all bets are pretty much off; I know my plans are shot, so what do you say we give him a taste of his own medicine. You've had to watch him go out with all these girls over the years, never mind the fact that you made him, why don't we see how he reacts when you get yourself a beau?" Bella suggested.

"A beau?" Alice questioned, drying her eyes.

"A sexy beau," Bella added. "I'm thinking someone who looks like they're...experienced. He will be so jealous to think that you're getting some finally, then we'll know for sure just how interested in Rosalie he really is." Well, you'll know, Bella thought to herself. I already know this too well.

"Oh...okay. But I um...won't have to like actually kiss him or anything?"

"I'm not saying that you won't, but I'll make sure whoever we pick knows the situation, so that they'll know to lay off. However if the time comes where we have to pull out the big guns, then you might have to make out with him a little."

"Bella, you're an evil genius. Did I ever tell you that you are my bestest friend in the whole world?" Alice said, sounding cheerful now. She pounced on Bella, drawing her into a hug, grinning like she'd got her sunshine back. Bella was quite pleased that she thought so.

"Once or twice, but it's always nice to hear."

* * *

**Author's note: So...thoughts? Show me that reviewage lurvvve.**

**And if you're interested in a Alice/Edward lemon, check out my one-shot, "With Your Permission." It's very...entertaining to say the least.**


	13. Jasper Officially Loses It

Step FOUR: "In the fields of psychology and psychiatry, the terms **depression** or **depressed** refer to both expected and pathologically chronic or severe levels of sadness, perceived helplessness, disinterest, and other related emotions and behaviors."

Song of the step: "Enthused" by: blink-182.

Song of the chapter: "Next Contestant" by: Nickelback.

**Quick note: This chapter goes a week into the future, and the girls' plan is launched. However, this first little section takes place the Monday morning after they start their plan to make him jealous, which occurred on Saturday night. Basically, Jasper loses it. Big time. Like off the deep end, I-wanna-kill-something loses it.**

-x-x-x-

Chapter Thirteen: Jasper Officially Loses It.

"We're having a pop quiz today," Jasper announced to his class. The usual sweeping motion of moans and groans played out, but once the kids caught onto what kind of mood their teacher was in, they decided maybe silence was golden, for their grade point average anyway. Marcus looked concerned, but dutifully pulled out his pencil, muttering to himself some of the things he might be on the quiz.

Originally Jasper had meant the quiz to be a distraction, but he found that once the kids were at work taking it, he had nothing but time. And time with reflection was not really going to help his state of mind. If anything, it just gave him time to dwell on the previous night.

It had been a week past what he liked to call the "Bowling Incident." He and his friends had gone back to their on-and-off habit of meeting at the Brewery for drinks on Saturday night, and he had been looking forward to it being an outing with a group rather than individual dates with Rosalie. However, everything had not gone as planned....

There was a soft whoosh of paper as Marcus layed down his quiz sheet on Jasper's desk. "Done already, kid?" he asked, astounded. Marcus nodded silently, shrugged and walked back to his front row seat. A few kids shot him incredulous looks as he did so. Jasper could imagine what they were thinking. _Show off._

Damn prick...he thought sourly as he remembered a certain other show-off. Dandy idiot....

But pushing the thought out of his mind for the moment, he waited somewhat patiently for the rest of his students to finish and turn-in their quizzes. Then he dismissed them all to lunch, glad for once that the schedule was so strange that the kids had lunch halfway through class, then came back for the second half. It was a much-needed breather.

During lunch his mind was filled with nothing but the answers to the rather-short quiz as he graded them, furiously swiping his red correcting pen across the papers. It was a very stress-relieving activity normally, but today it did nothing but up his agitation so that by the time the students started drifting back from the cafeteria---or more properly, Marcus came back from the cafeteria---he was good and pissed again.

"You know what, kid? Don't even try to understand women, it's a lost cause."

"What, Mr. Whitlock?" Marcus asked, looking confused.

"Women. Their minds work in different ways than ours, and it makes no sense at all, so I'm just saying that you ought not to even try," Jasper said, sighing. "They're ridiculous, and I just really don't understand them, and I don't think any man ever has."

"Oh."

"I mean first off you think they're fine being single, or that maybe you have a chance with them. Then they get some stupid prettyboy beau and are happy as a clam. Too freaking happy, really. It's ridiculous, and you're ridiculous for thinking that _you_ want to be the one to make her happy. And the guy is wrong, all wrong for her. So you can't understand why she likes him so much."

"Um...sir, might I suggest you talk to Miss Sheridan? She knows a lot, that lady. I think that's what counselors are for, to listen and stuff," Marcus said. It was about then that Jasper realized what he was doing. He was ranting, to a kid. A kid who had no idea what the hell he was gabbing on about. _Good going_, he thought sarcastically.

"Okay Mark, um thanks," he finished awkwardly, sitting at his desk. It wasn't a bad suggestion really. Maybe someone with a psychology background would be able to sort this all out, particularly a woman psychologist, who probably understood women better than he did.

* * *

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything?"

"No, Jasper, it's after school, remember?" Sharon Sheridan said pleasantly, motioning for him to come in and sit down. Miss Sheridan was about thirty-five, had curly, red hair, freckles, and very pretty green eyes which were framed by black-rimmed reading glasses. She had been sitting at her desk doing a bit of disciplenary paperwork for one of the kids when Jasper had knocked on her door. Feeling that he really needed to talk by the way he was shifting about nervously on his feet, she had set aside the papers to give him her undivided attention.

"Thanks Sharon. Normally I'd just ask someone else, but the situation's one I don't really think I can talk to my usual confidantes about, and I need a bit of clarification that you might be able to give to me," he told her, sitting in one of the straight-backed chairs against the wall of the counseling office.

"All right, fill in me in, and I'll do the best I can," Sharon answered, folding her hands on the top of her desk, waiting for him to begin. He took a deep breath and launched into his story about having loved Alice for all this time, and what impediments there had been, what setbacks, and anything else he could think of up to the events of this past Saturday. Sharon made some notes on her notepad, but otherwise was a quiet and attentive listener.

"Okay, so you did say that this weekend didn't go so well. Want to talk about that specifically?" she asked.

"Yeah, all right."

* * *

"Do you think this is going to work, Bella, really?" Alice asked hopefully as they walked up to the Avondale, early so they could meet up with her new 'beau', whoever he was supposed to be. All Bella had said so far is that he was a friend from Bella's college days, fairly good-looking, nice, and visiting. Apparently this guy had vacation time off from work, and had consented to help the girls out with their plan. After the night if it looked as if the plan was working, he would be staying at Alice's house until he either had to go back to work a few towns over, or until something drasticly good happened. Alice was hoping for the latter, naturally.

"Sure, it _has _to get some sort of reaction out of him. And if we have to lay it on a little thick, then so be it. All's fair in love and war," Bella answered. "Now come on, let's go get you two set up for the night. We can't have them all come in and think you two don't have any chemistry. This has to be played well to win."

"Yes ma'am," Alice joked, but there was a certain spring in her step as she followed her friend into the brewery to meet the guy. Once inside, Bella pointed.

"I told him to meet us up by the bar."

They drew closer, Bella walking on ahead to get his attention. She tapped a man with chestnut-coloured hair on the shoulder, and Alice couldn't see his face, but he and Bella seemed to be chatting quite amiably. She then gestured in Alice's direction, and the man turned to look at where she was pointing at. His eyes were a dazzling grey sort of colour, and he had a beautiful smile. Alice grinned in spite of herself. Bella had taken care of her, all right.

"Ali, this is my good friend, and fine fellow, Dallas Fletcher. Dal, this is my best friend Alice, the one you agreed to help out," Bella introduced them.

Dallas ambled over to take Alice's hand, smile still intact. She gave it to him freely, swooning a little inside when he raised it to his lips to give her hand a brief kiss. "Miss Alice," he said quietly, or rather in his normal tone. Alice was soon to find out Dallas was a very soft-spoken man. A man with an accent, Southern if she wasn't quite mistaken.

"Nice to meet you too, Dallas," she said kindly, thinking to herself that if this didn't do it, nothing would. "Where abouts do you hail from?"

"I suppose my voice gives me away a little. I'm from Texas," he conceded. Alice sent a glance at Bella, who merely smiled innocently like she hadn't ever thought about that particular similarity between the two boys. Sneaky...Alice thought. But possibly better in the end.

"It's all right. Makes you somewhat unique. Can't say the same for myself, unfortunately," she responded.

"Ah Miss, you seem very unique, actually. Special. I don't know who this guy is, but he's pretty stupid not to scoop you up an' quick like," Dallas said firmly.

"Yes, Dal, he can be very stupid about her," Bella chimed in, rolling her eyes at various recollections. "Hopefully he'll straighten up real soon, otherwise we wouldn't be having this little chat, right now anyways. You really ought to visit more."

"Life's busy when I'm at work. There's a thousand little details I gotta deal with in the blueprints, and then usually the construction crew manages to have a few mishaps or misunderstandings so...basically it's a lot of stuff to look out for."

"Well if you ever get a chance, do come around," Bella added. "We'd be glad to have ya."

* * *

When Jasper had gotten to the brewery, he had been last in the group to arrive, which was strange enough as he was usually one of the first. He had made his way through the Saturday night crowd to the group's usual table, ready to make his apologies for holding them up when he noticed something even stranger. He hadn't even gotten particularly close to the table when he heard a familiar sound---Alice's laughter. Slightly disconcerted that he may have been missing out on a good joke, probably courtesy of Emmett, he quickened his step, hoping they wouldn't be too out of it from laughing to explain the joke to him as well.

And about then the table came into view. The usual seating arrangements were in place, Bella in between Edward and Alice, then Emmett next to Edward, Rosalie next to him, an empty seat where he'd be sitting, but the arrangement was thrown off kilter by an extra seat added to the table across from his own place. A brown-haired man, about medium height was whispering something in _his_ Alice's ear, and she was laughing about it while the other chatted amongst the four of themselves. Who the fuck was the dandy? Jasper asked angrily in his mind. Why is he so close to her? Why is she so interested in what he's saying?

He hissed slightly under his breath and didn't care if anyone heard it. He was getting to the bottom of this, and quick-like.

They all stopped and greeted him; Emmett giving him a hard time, "What kept ya, man?"

"Traffic," he said, tight-lipped, taking his usual seat and glancing hastily over to where the newbie was seated next to her, not whispering now but looking around the table listlessly, probably waiting to be introduced. Bella took the opportunity to do just that.

"Jasper, this is my college friend, Dallas Fletcher. He's an architect. Dallas, meet my friend Jasper," Bella said, smiling angelically as she gave out the names.

Inside, Jasper was not one bit calmer for a name. Instead his mind went to work, thinking what a stupid name Dallas was anyway, and Jesus knows he loves the Cowboys, but to name the dude after the city? Nah, he wasn't too fond of that. Not at all.

"So, where you from anyway?" he asked, figuring the answer would be Dallas, a perfect cliche in his mind.

"Austin...Texas," Dallas replied.

Well, Jasper thought. I should have figured this. They called him Dallas but he's from Austin. Parents must not be that bright...he mused sarcastically. I doubt he is either with them kind of genes. At least let's hope so, he added. Alice doesn't like stupid men...I think? he thought nervously. To be honest, he really couldn't be sure. She had never said what type she went for....

"Oh, my parents are from Houston," he added in an attempt to seem at least civil.

"Oh."

"What can I get you to drink, sir?" a waitress asked Jasper.

"White Russian," he said, choosing to divert from his usual order, beer.

By the time she brought it back to him, Dallas, Alice, Edward, and Bella had gone off to dance together. He sipped it thoughtfully, watching the first two like a hawk. It was some sort of rock song, kind of good, but one he hadn't heard before.

"How's that White Russian treating ya, bro?" Emmett wanted to know. He considered most mixed drinks 'sissy', so Jasper knew he was just teasing.

"Swell," he muttered, not moving his eyes from the dance floor. He set the glass back on the table after a long draw, and tapped his fingers errantly on the wooden surface of the table. Rosalie and Emmett were talking about some movie she wanted to see, but he wasn't really paying all that attention. With any luck, Emmett would take her, and he'd be off the hook for that one at least.

It was bearable watching until the DJ decided that with so many couples on the floor, he ought to play a slow jam. Jasper was not a happy camper. He didn't like how Dallas' hands were on her waist, or how she seemed to have eyes for only him as they swayed back and forth to the haunting melody. He definitely didn't like she was talking softly to him the whole time, and how he couldn't make out what she was saying. No...he didn't like any of it.

Then for a "change of pace," rap was next on the agenda. Bella, blushing slightly as she took in the style of dance this song required, pleaded with Edward until he brought her back over to the table, shaking his head and grinning. Alice however, seemed to be supremely unabashed as she continued dancing, or rather _grinding_ back into Dallas, which consequentially made Jasper's blood about boil. He _definitely _didn't like that either. First the slow jam now she's practically dry-humping him...various forms of torture, he groaned inwardly. And the fact that she was doing this all on the first date didn't help anything.

So while he could still repress the urge to wrap his hands around the newcomer's throat and throttle him for even daring to touch _his_ Alice, Jasper made his excuses and left before the guilty pair even made their way back up to the table.

* * *

"Okay, first off, I'd recommend you break up with that girl if you're genuinely not interested in her. It'd be a good first step regardless of the situation," Sharon suggested sagely once he had finished telling his story.

"Right, I'll get on that," Jasper muttered. "Anything else?"

"I'd say think big. Don't be rude or anything, but start putting yourself out there a little more so that she might get the hint that you like her. We women may be intuitive at times, but I'm afraid we're not mindreaders by any means. So help her out."

"Sure, I guess that makes a bit of sense. But what do you mean, think big?"

"Well, basically be a bit more bold than you have been. Don't do anything outrageous, but try out new things. Give her compliments, girls are suckers for those, however much I don't like to think I am," Sharon giggled. "But bold can be what you want it to be. I can't tell you to do anything specific; you're going to have to just think about it, and let the plans come to you. If it seems plausible, then try it. It can't hurt at this point."

"Okay. Thanks Sharon. You're a damn good counselor."

"Just doing my job."

* * *

**Author's note: So...thoughts? Show me that reviewage lurvvve.**

**What do you think of the new beau? He's still got a role to play in the next few chapters. I think you can infer that Jasper doesn't like him, but what is the boy going to do about it? What do you think he should do about Austin? I'd like to hear what you think. -nods-**


	14. Everyone Gets Something They Wa

Step FIVE: "Action is an act that one consciously wills and that may be characterized by physical or mental activity."

Song of the step: "All At Once" by: The Fray.

Song of the chapter: "Change (In The House of Flies)" by: Deftones. (For no reason other than I dig the song).

**Quick note: Y'all say action, well, here we're gonna be making some progress. And now we're on to the fifth step, which coincidentally enough is "ACTION." So expect some stuff to be going on in the next few chapters, whether good stuff or bad is for me to know and you to find out. -chuckles-**

-x-x-x-

Chapter Fourteen: (Nearly) Everyone Gets Something They Want.

Okay...he steeled himself. I can do this. I've done this before, he reminded himself. It's not hard; maybe she'll even be okay with it...maybe. Just bite the bullet, call her up, and do it. It'll only take a few minutes, and then you can relax. And move on to bigger and better things.

He took a deep breath, exhaled, and picked up the phone. Next he dialed a few numbers, and held the cordless up to his ear, pacing back and forth as he waited for her to pick up. Jasper reflected that he just couldn't sit still when he was on the phone. He wasn't exactly sure why, but he just couldn't help but move a little, and this time, he full-out paced. Finally his waiting was rewarded by a greeting on the other end.

"Hello?" Rosalie said breathlessly.

"Hi, um, I uh...do ya have a moment?"

"Sure, what'd you need to talk to me about?" she inquired.

"I was thinking that maybe we should..." he began, but then Rosalie cut him off.

"Break up?" she suggested without skipping a beat.

"Something like that," Jasper agreed.

"Okay," she said cheerfully. "Friends then?"

"Yeah...wow, you really are okay with this, aren't you?" he added, sounding surprised.

"Yep. You wouldn't be angry if I said I kind of wanted to go around with someone else, would you?" she asked.

"Nah, I wouldn't. Who exactly?" Jasper inquired, though he was fairly sure he knew who her answer would indicate. After all, he had been trying to get them together for the last week or so anyhow. Maybe he'd done a better job of it than he'd previously thought....

"Emmett," Rosalie answered promptly.

"Oh good, I think you two will have a lot of fun. Just don't let him give you any crap about anything," he advised.

"Jasper, do I look like the kind of woman who would take crap from a man?"

"No."

"Exactly. See you at work!" she ended on a cheerful note before hanging up. Rosalie placed her phone on the bedside table, and then snuggled back under her comforter, not quite ready to tumble out of bed just yet. She felt fairly lighthearted now that everything was working out how she'd wanted.

"Please tell me you're not a morning person," he mumbled, one hand over his eyes to protect him from the light streaming in through her bedroom window. He sounded slightly aggravated, but she knew it was mostly an empty threat. She'd soon learned that while he liked to play _a lot_, he also very much valued his sleep. Almost like a child would.

"Not usually, _dear_, but today is an especially good morning," she reminded him. "So, how'd you sleep?" she asked as an afterthought.

"Fine," Emmett muttered. "But I could do with a little more. Want me to tire you out so we can both have a nap?" he asked suggestively, winking at her.

"Well, when you put it that way..." she said teasingly, leaning down to kiss him on the nose. He pouted, his lower lip jutting out. Rosalie laughed to see the face he made, since it didn't match the rest of him very well at all. However his personality was rather like a cuddly teddy bear, so maybe she'd let it slide this time.

"When I put it like that...what?"

"Then it's just so hard to resist," she replied, kissing him properly now. His arms wound around her middle, pulling her down on top of him. She smiled in spite of herself when she felt something _very_ welcome.

"Not everything the morning brings is so bad, is it Emmett?" she joked after pulling away for a moment. He rolled his eyes and flipped them so that he rested on top of her.

"I _really_ enjoyed what happened this weekend...and err yesterday too," he told her.

"So did I," she assured him. "And um, he doesn't mind, apparently. So we don't have to sneak around like we thought we would. Good news, huh?"

"Yep. He's my best friend, always has been, but I wouldn't have liked to hurt him. Though you know what Rosie? No offense but I don't think he ever really liked you, at least not in the way _I_ like you," he said, caressing the side of her face with one hand, face screwed up in concentration as he tried to think how best to say this. Emmett liked to think himself fairly perceptive, and there'd been some things he'd noticed.

"He hardly even tried to know you as more than a friend. You know? And I really don't know why, but he just has seemed so distracted lately. Why do you think that is?" he inquired thoughtfully.

"I don't know, but he has seemed a little out of it. But he just keeps to himself...I hope he's not suicidal or anything," she murmured worriedly.

Emmett chuckled. "Him? Nah I doubt it. He knows that his momma would kill him if he ever even thought of something like that. Heck, I'd dig the bastard up, give him a good shake, and then put him back under again!"

"Emmett, sometimes that's not enough to deter someone who really is thinking about ending their life. I think you should talk to him," Rosalie said. "Please? Like you said, he's your best mate, and so just to ease my mind, will you?"

He sighed, "I suppose, but I promise you he isn't depressed or anything. I'm not sure what's bugging him, but it's probably just something _small_, like oh I don't know, maybe his kids are being little jerks or something. He lets things get to him way too easily. It's just how he is."

"Exactly. So maybe if you talk to him, he'll see just how trivial his problem---whatever it may be---really is!"

"Will do. Now, how about that nap?"

* * *

"Oh Isa-bellahhh!" Alice sang. "Time to talk!"

"Alice, it's early. I haven't had my coffee yet," Bella whined. "Why are you so perky already?"

"Tea!" she chimed in. "It's heavenly....now tell me what happened. I let you go home with Edward, but now it's been days, and you haven't called me or anything! What have you been up to lately?"

"Um, I was preoccupied. Anniversary weekend, remember?" Bella replied.

"Oh, so you were otherwise occupied, huh? How did Edward like your anniversary present?"

"Good in the end, but at first I think he thought my present might be in some verbal form, say a yes to his proposal?" Bella said while she spritzed some of the calla lilies with a waterbottle. Sofie was at the cashier's desk, doodling on a notepad, and Jemma was putting some of the new bulbs into plastic containers.

"What'd you say?" Alice asked excitedly.

"Nothing, yet. I'm still thinking it over," Bella told her. "And besides, I'm still officially 'mad' at him, remember? I'm thinking of giving it another month, then I'll let him off the hook. I just can't believe he wouldn't tell me. I've even told him _several times_ in the past that he can tell me anything and I'll listen!" she said, spraying a fern rather forcefully while Alice followed her amongst the plants in the nursery.

"But anyway," she huffed. "I suppose you're very curious about what happened with Jasper."

"Yeah, just a little bit," Alice agreed. "All I know is that as soon as Dallas and I were done dancing, he was gone. So...what happened?"

"Well when Edward and I went back up to the table, he was still there, but not for long. He was watching you two, I think. Apparently he didn't like how you danced with Dallas, because he seemed pretty ticked. We may be very close to getting him to act," Bella told her. "And I think I know the _perfect_ way to do it. Two words: Secret Santa. We'll draw the names at your house. Dallas can be a part of it too. I bet my life that Jasper won't like he's staying at your house."

"I think you're right," Alice said. "I think that might just do it."

"Well then, call everyone up. Let's do _this_!" Bella said enthusiastically. "After work, anyway," she trailed off lamely, setting down her waterbottle on the nearest table.

"Can do!"

* * *

**Author's note: So...thoughts? Show me that reviewage lurvvve (30 peeps on alert, but only about a third of ya review. -looks sad-). Also, check out my new little ficlet, "Midnight." I'm almost done with Chapter Two on that; the pairings are both Bella x Edward and Alice x Jasper. I'd really love some reviews an' such on it. -winks-**


	15. Snarky Santa Pays The Group A Visit

Step FIVE: "Action is an act that one consciously wills and that may be characterized by physical or mental activity."

Song of the step: "All At Once" by: The Fray.

Song of the chapter: "Tangerine" by: The Flaming Lips.

**Quick note: Yay, I inspired you to review! (At least a few of you anyhow. 13, four more reviews than usual, but beggars can't be choosers, eh?) Hopefully the trend will keep on keepin' on, as they say. I love to hear whatchya think. Cos' y'all inspire me as well. Oh and this chapter's twice the usual length.**

-x-x-x-

Chapter Fifteen: Snarky Santa Pays The Group A Visit.

"Alice, you really didn't have to go to all this trouble---it's not Christmas yet. We haven't even drawn the names!" Bella said as she peered around the living room of her best friend's house, which was incredibly catalogue-esque at the moment with wreaths, garland, snowmen statues and little lights glistening all over the place. All that was missing was a tree with some ornaments. It was almost as if a holiday-themed tornado had run through Alice's living room.

"Tick-tock, Bella. We only have a week before we open gifts, and I wanted to get the decorating done!" Alice insisted as she double-checked the mistletoe that was hanging down from the doorframe that led into the kitchen. She had to stand on a chair to do it, thumbtacks in one hand, mistletoe in the other. Bella couldn't help but smile to see her friend taking this all so seriously, and really, it was _just _decorations!

"Wow, what happened in here?" Edward asked, giving the room an once-over.

"Holiday spirit and too much Red Bull, apparently," Bella remarked.

"I'll say," he agreed, moving closer to her.

"Why are you walking like that, like you're up to something?" she asked, one arched eyebrow in the air. He smiled devilishly.

"I was trying to think how I might get you under that mistletoe, _Isabella_."

"It might be easier than you think, Edward, though timing of course is a factor..." she trailed off suggestively.

"Hey if you two are gonna get it on, please at least use Alice's bedroom, and spare us our eyesight!"

Emmett had no trouble making his presence known, as per usual. He barged through the door that Alice had just finished the mistletoe on, grinning mischieviously. Rosalie was with him, and she merely exchanged glances with Edward and a flushed Bella, who clearly were thinking along the same lines as her. _Typical Emmett._

"Hey Sprite, whatchoo doing all the way up there?" He said, putting a hand over his eyes as if he was squinting into the sun, even though he was clearly not having to crane his neck all that much. Alice shook her head at him.

"Decorating," she answered simply.

"Is that mistletoe I see?"

"No Emmett, it's just something that looks like mistletoe," she played along.

"I think it is." His grin widened. "Come down here and give me a kiss!"

"If you insist," she sighed, planting a quick kiss on his cheek before hopping down from the chair. Emmett pretended to swoon while she disappeared off into the kitchen to put the chair away, while the others merely sighed. _Nothing like the holidays with some friends...where's the eggnog?_

"Dude. Football," Emmett said to Edward, who shrugged. They headed off for the T.V., briefly arguing over who had control of the remote. Rosalie gave them one look, and rolled her eyes on the way to the kitchen. Bella soon followed her, because basically, football was not her cup o' tea.

"Well, that should about do it. Bella, did you bring the salad?" Alice asked as soon as she heard her friend coming into the kitchen.

"Uh, it's still in the car. Hold on," Bella responded.

"Make Edward get it. It's not even kickoff time yet, he shouldn't have any complaints," Rosalie instructed her, nabbing a seat at the kitchen table. While Bella went off to ask, Alice busied herself pulling out the other side dishes and setting them on a counter, hoping that Bella wouldn't take long. She did not need lots of time alone with Rosalie to spoil her mood.

"So," she began nervously. "Anything new with you?"

"Hmm," Rosalie said, "well Emmett and I are sleeping together now."

Alice dropped the cup she was holding. Luckily it didn't break, but it did make a rather startling sound against the wooden countertop. She couldn't help but think: What? When did that happen? She cleared her throat, picked up the cup and brought it over to the sink to rinse it to give herself some thinking time.

"What was that noise?" Bella inquired, reappearing in the doorway.

"I just dropped something, that's all. Oh, and Rosalie, why don't you tell Bella what you told me?" Alice said, her back turned to them both. She wasn't sure how this was going to change things. For one thing, it meant that he wasn't desperately into her, if he was willing to let her break up with him, so that was good. Though, this could also mean nothing at all. He always broke up with the other girl eventually, so maybe he was just ready for a new one.

_Not me though, never me_, she thought sourly. _I'm right in front of him and yet, he seems to like right through me._ _I really do hate him at times like these. But I don't want to hate him, argh! Why can't I just get over him? It would be so less stressful if I didn't have to deal with him and his crap._

"What??!" Bella exclaimed suddenly, drawing Alice out of her thoughts. "What do you mea...when did this happen?"

"Saturday night. After you and Edward left, we just sort of hooked up. And again the rest of the weekend, Monday, this morning...you get the picture," Rosalie explained. "Jasper and I broke up this morning. I was going to call him anyway, but he called first. Everyone got what they wanted in the end."

_Not me_, Alice added to herself.

"Oh, um...that's nice?" Bella said, unsure if that was the right sentiment. She glanced at Alice, who rolled her eyes covertly as she leaned against the kitchen counter. Then Bella looked back at Rosalie, who was pretty well pleased with herself.

"Bella, can you go help me with something? I have more garland in my room that I'd like to put up. Please?" Alice asked, giving her a significant look. Bella nodded and followed her out of the kitchen, where they took a detour through the living room to the hall. The boys barely even glanced their way, entranced as the kickoff of the game was in progress. The girls headed into the hall's bathroom, whereupon they locked the door. Alice turned on the shower, and then turned to look at her best friend, folding her hands over her chest.

Bella sighed. She didn't look very merry at all.

"Bella, I _really_ don't like her. I don't want her in my house. I can't believe she can just go around and cheat on him and be that nonchalant! She's...she's something else," Alice snapped angrily, visibly seething as she hopped onto the sink counter to sit. Bella sat down next to her, doing some fast thinking.

"Ali, you can't kick her out of your house. I know you really want to right now, but trust me, that would not end well. And besides, apparently Emmett likes her. He's our friend, and ought he be able to have a nice holiday with her? We don't want to lose him because you want to kick her out, right?" she asked pointedly.

Alice looked defiant for a moment, and then sighed, letting her hands fall to her sides. "I guess not," she said tersely. "But why does he have to pick her; there's so many nicer, less-whorish women around!"

"Alice, she is not a whore. And she can be nice. You're just overreacting. Plus, let's look at it this way. She was going to break up with him anyway, which means she likes Emmett too, and wants to be with him. So can you really call her a whore? No, you can't," Bella answered for her, seeing the look on her friend's face.

"These things happen. It's not like her and Jasper were married or anything. And he's coming over tonight, which means their breaking-up or her and Emmett's little fling didn't bother him. You know he wouldn't come tonight if it did. Right?" she added. Alice nodded finally.

"Well okay then," Bella said, smiling. "So are you going to behave?"

"If she does," Alice replied promptly. "But I sure am glad I bought tons of eggnog."

"Whatever makes you happy," Bella told her. "Now come on, let's go get that garland and put it up."

"Bella, you really don't catch on, do you? There wasn't any garland," Alice laughed. "It was an excuse to get away from _her_."

"Oh. So we looked and looked but couldn't find it anywhere?"

"That's our story and we're sticking to it," Alice agreed. "Now come on. Hopefully the boys get here soon, so we can get started on dinner."

"That reminds me, where's Dallas?" Bella asked.

"I sent him grocery shopping for me. Last minute stuff. He shouldn't be too much longer."

"Okay."

They unlocked the bathroom door and headed back into the kitchen, where Dallas was just getting back. Rosalie had drifted off into the living room with the boys, and everything was falling into place. Now if only...

"He was behind me," Dallas said, eyeing the look on Alice's face. "Your guy. He's just trying to park is all."

"How'd you know...?" she began.

"You looked anxious. Didn't take too much figuring on my part to guess why," he answered, smiling in a friendly manner.

"Thanks," she said quietly.

"Any time, Miss. Just tell me when you need somethin', and I'll be on it in a jiff," he said, chuckling softly.

* * *

Jasper arrived a minute or two later, and after saying hi to the girls, he headed off to the living room to watch football with the other menfolk. Alice and Bella set out the food and silverware on the kitchen table by themselves. Lastly they poured drinks for everyone, and then called everyone in for the meal.

It was passed amiably enough with idle chatter to fill the recesses in time, and Alice attributed the success to not sitting by Rosalie. After dinner though, were the real festivities. Everyone was good and ready to get drunk, and draw the names for the annual Secret Santa event.

"Car keys everyone, hand 'em over!" Alice called. She went around grabbing a set from each person, and made sure they were good and stored away somewhere.

"Can we start drinking now?" Emmett asked.

"No, we're drawing names first. I assume you brought the hat?"

"Of course I brought the hat! What kind of man do you think I am?" he asked, feigning hurt. Emmett held up the red Santa's hat, beaming.

"I guess I just have one question," Dallas piped up. "Why are y'all doin this so early? I mean you have a good month till the actual holiday."

"Well," Emmett answered, "ever since Alice here had French class in high school, she's been bugging us to celebrate the gift-giving part on the day the Frenchies give their gifts, which is the sixth. It's fine by me, but it works out now that we're older. Most of us are usually busy at that time---I go home to my parent's to celebrate with them, for instance. So we draw our names, and give gifts about a week later. It's efficient or something like that."

"Oh."

"So, Dallas, where do you live if not here in Fernwyck?" Jasper asked.

"Um, a few towns over, in Saville. But right now I'm stayin with Alice for a few days," Dallas explained.

"That's...nice," Jasper forced out, though his mind had other thoughts about that living situation. He didn't like it, and he was going to have to have a talk with Dallas about that _real_ soon. Maybe when they were done with the drawing, and everyone else was preoccupied. Yes...he mused. I'm going to tell _him_ something.

"All right, before we get started, sleeping arrangements are as follows. Bella and Edward, you guys get the first guest bedroom, Emmett...Rosalie, second guest bedroom. Jasper, Dallas, you two get living room, and I'll just be in my room like always. That okay with everyone?"

_Well besides the fact that I have to sleep by _**him**_ then we're good_, Jasper thought. At least they had the decency not to room up together, though Jasper was considering sleeping with one eye open to make sure that no good son of a bitch wasn't sneakin off to her room in the middle of the night.

"Good. Okay, everyone write your name on a piece of paper, stick it in the hat, and let's get going!" Emmett said enthusiastically, putting his own slip in first. Then when the others had their names written, he went around and collected the slips, gave the hat a few shakes to mix them, and then stepped over to Alice.

"You draw first," he ordered. She rolled her eyes but drew a slip, and didn't peek. The rules were you couldn't peek until everyone had drawn a slip. And she was trying to at least be good tonight. Emmett offered the hat to the rest of them, and then announced, "Someone's going to draw a second slip, since we have seven people here, not six. Alice, do you want to? You did when it was just the five of us."

"Definitely," she replied, smiling. "I have better taste than you all anyway."

_Yeah, there could be just the six of us, and guess who wouldn't be invited back,_ Jasper thought, glancing to where Dallas stood, shifting on his feet.

Alice drew the last slip of paper, and Emmett beamed. "Okay, you all can read 'em now, just keep it to yourself."

Jasper mentally crossed his fingers, and then unfolded his slip. _Dammit._ Well he mused, it could be worse. He could have to buy Dallas a present. But no, he should be fine with this really. Bella was one of his best friends, he shouldn't have much trouble figuring out what to get her. But he had wanted to draw Alice's name, he really did.

_Dammit still_.

But now was not the time for cursing. He and Dallas needed to have a _little_ talk about things, and now was the time for that. Steeling himself, he walked over to the guy, and said quietly, "Might I talk to you about something?" which was mostly drowned out by Emmett's whooping over his slip of paper, and the fact that Alice was going to get the eggnog and whisky for the boys. Dallas nodded his assent, and they journeyed out to the back porch where they could speak without being overheard.

He felt like he was a tough cop investigating some street punk. If only he had a pair of handcuffs...but Jasper knew he'd have to make do with words, as he wasn't sure the various little ways he felt like acting in his mind wouldn't end well. He wanted to beat the shit out of the guy, but that probably wouldn't be the best move. Nah, settle for intimidating him, he told himself. That ought to get you _some _satisfaction.

"So, what are your intentions with Alice?" he vocalised a minute later.

"Intentions? I'm afraid I don't know what you mean by that. Does anyone have any intentions when they're first dating someone?" Dallas answered in what he obviously hoped was a conspiriatoral tone, as if Jasper was one of his old buddies or something.

"They ought to."

"Well, I don't at the moment. I'm just playing it by ear. We're just seeing where it goes, you know?" Dallas added.

"So you are staying in her house," he didn't want to say _sleeping with her_, "and yet you have no intentions? I'm afraid _I_ don't understand that. Do you think this is just an experiment? Dip your wick here and there, and _see how it goes_? No, I'm sorry, but I really have trouble comprehending that. She's one of my oldest friends, and she deserves so much better than someone with no intentions," Jasper finished in a deathly tone of voice, glaring at the man across from him, slowly building up his rage.

"Dude, you need to calm down," Dallas suggested, standing up with a wary look on his face.

Jasper jumped to his feet, "Well you and the rest of the stupid men out there need to grow up! You just can't treat women like that; like they're disposable! Especially her! You just can't!" he yelled, clenching his fists as he angrily gesticulated. Dallas took a step back.

"I never said that was how I thought about her, or how I treated her! Did I say that? No. I don't treat women that way, man."

"Coward's words," Jasper muttered.

"Excuse me? Are you calling me a liar?!"

"Yeah, I guess I am."

"You're making a mistake," Dallas pointed out to him.

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. Maybe you are a lying scumbag, and maybe you're honest like you say you are. How am I supposed to know that?!"

"Well if you don't know, then don't go 'round makin' assumptions!"

"Hey boys, you want some eggnog?" Rosalie called from the sliding glass door. The two feuding men glanced at her, and then back at each other.

Jasper heaved a sigh. "We'll talk later."

"Fine," Dallas replied. "Later it is."

They followed her inside, Dallas darting off rather quickly to the kitchen. Jasper walked more slowly, plastering a smile on his face for the company, who didn't seem to notice that anything was out of the blue. The coward, as he now referred to Dallas, was making a move already, putting an arm around Alice's waist. His fingers toyed with the fringe of her blouse, and it made Jasper somewhat sick. So he made a swift detour to the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face.

_Pull yourself together_, he commanded himself. _She'll realize it's not right, him and her. _

But what if it was right? He didn't really want to go down that route of thinking, but it had to be traversed. She hadn't had a boyfriend...ever as far as he could remember, unless she had dated in college like the rest of them. And as far as sex went...well he only knew of one less-than-happy occasion. And even though it was ridiculous, Jasper was so glad it had been Edward and not some other guy. If it was another guy, she might still be attached to him, since he would be her first. Girls were supposed to have some special spot in their heart for the first, or at least that's what he'd been told. But since it was Edward, who was clearly in love with Bella, Alice's sister of sorts, there was no cause to worry about that.

It was the smallest relief possible, but he needed that. He needed any kind of relief he could get where she was concerned.

Now she was with that punk though. There was going to be substantial drinking tonight, and there'd probably be some sort of consequence. And from what he'd seen, Dallas was already laying hands on her sober. There was no doubt in his mind that the two would probably end up in bed tonight.

Which is why Jasper made up his mind to drink until he didn't even know his own name any more. He definitely didn't need to remember this. Hopefully someone would make sure he didn't hurt himself in the process. He guessed that someone would probably not be Alice or Dallas. They'd be too fucking preoccupied to care.

* * *

"Hey!" she giggled. "That tickles!"

"I know it does," he responded, tickling her some more as they fumbled around in the darkened room. "But I have certain privileges, I caught you after all." He ran his hands down the sides of her slim body, to where her blouse ended. He stuggled to pull it off before she sat up, helping him out. Then he went to work on her bra, running his tongue over the swells of her breasts as he pulled the clasp open. She laughed some more and twisted her fingers into his hair, keeping him where she wanted him.

"You're going to have to let go," he murmured.

"And why is that?" she played along.

"I want to taste you," he told her boldly. She released her grip on his hair.

"Good girl."

"Bad boy," she cooed encouragingly as he slowly worked his way down her body. His tongue flicked ever so gently over her clit, and she bucked her hips a little, making a soft little sound of pleasure. He beamed, even though she couldn't see that in the dark, and plunged his tongue inside her slick pussy, slowing pumping in and out. She writhed some more from his ministrations, and he moved his mouth away.

"Hold still," he instructed her.

"Never," she said defiantly.

"Oh really? Because we could be done here..."

"No, I don't believe you. You're enjoying this, aren't you?" she shot back.

"I am, but I am a little disconcerted. I was hoping you'd be screaming my name by now."

"Oh you," she reprimanded.

"Yes, me," he responded mischieviously as he slipped two fingers inside her, working her quickly as she floated back into her happy place, bucking her hips along with the motions of his rather talented fingers. She moaned loudly, and he knew she was so close.

"What's my name, baby?" he commanded.

"It's...ha," she breathed harshly. "It's..."

* * *

**Author's note: So...thoughts? Show me that reviewage lurvvve, even though yes, I did leave you with some cliffhanger-age. You know you love me teasing you with these little cliffies. Or not? Either way, let me know what you thought of this chapter. And more importantly (sexin is more importante, is it not? lol) who you thought was gettin it on?!**


	16. PostEggnog Revelations

Step FIVE: "Action is an act that one consciously wills and that may be characterized by physical or mental activity."

Song of the step: "All At Once" by: The Fray.

Song of the chapter: "I Turn My Camera On" by: Spoon. (Lol, I turn my camera on! -whispers- That's what she said...).

**Quick note: Wow you guys rock hard core! Y'all reviewed (16 in all) and none of them was Just "Update soon!". You guys actually gave me some commenting, and I totally appreciate that. Now what was most interesting to me was how different all your guesses were on the lemon cliffy. So just so you see, here's what the votes were: **

**Alice & Dallas: 4 votes. (Hmm...)**

**Alice & Jasper: (Nah, I'll say right now it wasn't them. Not YET anyways, you know?) 4 votes.**

**Bella & Edward: 4 votes.**

**Rosalie & Emmett: 5 votes. **

**(And the Sexy Emmy goes to....)**

-x-x-x-

Chapter Sixteen: Post-Eggnog Revelations.

"Ugh. Need water. Or coffee. What are you sleeping in the hallway for, dude?"

"Huh?!" Jasper said loudly, startled out of his sleep. Emmett was eyeing him strangely as he stood over where Jasper was sleeping. From down on the floor, his friend looked like a giant, however, Emmett wasn't quite as menacing as most giants. More of a Jolly Green Giant if anything.

"Well, did you pass out in the hallway, or was this intentional? And you might want to move, or Alice won't be able to get out of her bedroom. You're blocking the door dude," Emmett pointed out. _Yeah, kinda the point, Emmett my friend, _Jasper thought hazily.

"Am I?" he lied. "Wow, I must have drank too much last night."

"Thas' okay, we all did I think. Unfortunately I can't say I got enough sleep. Or sex. Edward's girly moaning really kills the mood. And I was being nice too; I didn't bang on the wall or anything. I figured it might have startled them. They sounded like they were actually having fun, so I thought I'd let them carry on."

"Good for you," Jasper said distractedly, getting to his feet. He rolled his neck a little bit to get the crick out, and blinked his eyes a few times. It was about then that he resolved never to drink that much again. The headache was so not worth it. But at least he'd done what he wanted to. There was no way Dallas had gotten into Alice's bedroom, not without waking him up. So there was that to look forward to.

"I know. Just being a Good Samaritan and all that jazz. Now, the important question is, where does she keep her aspirin?" Emmett said, rubbing his hands together as if he was plotting something.

"Same place she always does, in the cabinet in the bathroom. Second shelf on the right."

"Okay, stalker-boy. You want some?"

"Yeah, if you would."

"That reminds me. Rose asked me to talk to you," Emmett told him.

"Why?"

"Uh, something about you being all depressed and whatnot. You aren't going to like...kill yourself are you?"

"No, why would you think that?"

"Dude, you're not exactly happy-go-lucky these days. So, what's up?"

"Nothing. I'm not depressed," Jasper answered. "I'm fine. But right now I have a major headache and that aspirin is sounding pretty good 'bout now. So, you get that, and I'll get the water. That all right with you?"

"Actually I'd prefer a tall glass of O.J. but..."

"Emmett."

"Fine, fine, water then. I take back that depressed comment. What you need is a good lay."

"I don't...."

"No, we're going to get you laid dude. Trust me, I'm the expert," Emmett assured him, grinning.

"I don't want to."

"Right, you say that _now_, but I swear this will help you relax. Now what we're going to do first is..."

"Emmett! No."

"Geez, what crawled up your ass and died?"

"I don't want to just go randomly get laid. End of story."

"No dude, not end of story. No dude just does not want to get laid. We need to have a serious talk about this," Emmett said, nodding gravely. Jasper shook his head.

"A serious talk? About getting laid? Are you kidding?"

"No, I'm not. I take this very seriously, I'll have you know."

"Emmett, leave him alone. And get me some aspirin too," Bella said, yawning slightly as she came down the hallway towards where the boys were talking. Jasper shot her a grateful look, and she just smiled. Emmett headed off to secure the meds, and Bella came to a stop before her friend.

"Is he bothering you?" she asked knowingly.

"Not nearly as much as your _friend_," Jasper told her.

"Hey now, Dallas is a quality guy. And my friend," Bella replied. "So behave."

"It's hard to."

"She hasn't had a real boyfriend before, let her have her fun. And Jasper, let me tell you a little secret about life. The first beau isn't usually the last one. After all, I dated Jacob first, but who am I with now? Not Jacob, obviously. So behave, or you might not get your chance, I'm afraid. Okay?"

"All right, I suppose. I think I scared him though. I asked him what his intentions with her were. Kind of like the scary big-brother talk...ugh. Is that what I am to her, Bella? A brother? Because you just don't fall in love with your brother..."

"Don't freak out, I don't think it's like that at all. But kudos on the talk. I would be shocked if you didn't try to at least do that. You care about her too much," Bella remarked, still smiling.

"I do," he murmured. "I love her."

"I know you do. But be nice to Dallas."

"If I have to," he said sarcastically. "But I don't like him touching her. He shouldn't be touching her at all, if I had my way."

"Jasper, I'm pretty sure they haven't even kissed. Like I said, don't _freak out_. That is the absolute worst thing you could do right now."

"The worst would be kil..."

Bella shot him a look.

"Okay okay, I'll be nice," he said, throwing his hands up in the air. Bella nodded, satisfied, and traipsed off towards the kitchen, probably to get the coffee started. "Ish," he tacked on quietly as soon as she was out of earshot.

* * *

Everyone slowly made their way to one central room upon waking up: the kitchen. Aspirin and empty glasses were laid out on the counter for convenience. Most complained of a headache, and some were mute until they got some coffee in them as well. After that was taken care of, Bella made breakfast by group consensus, and everyone ate heartily. Then each person, or rather couple got their stuff together and headed out back to their houses, in most cases for a lie-in.

Jasper had been disconcerted at first about leaving, but when he heard that Dallas was going home to Saville for the day, it made him feel a lot better. So he was able to go back to his house with no negative feelings about leaving them alone together, and he decided like everyone else that he was going to have himself a lie-down. Maybe read a book and then take a quick nap. It sounded like heaven.

So he threw on some pyjama pants and an old tee-shirt, and headed to his room. Then he bustled about the room, drawing the shades, pulling back the covers of his blankets, and locating the book he was currently in the midst of. It took two looks around the room before he remembered that he'd put it in the drawer of the end-table by his bed.

Jasper opened the drawer, and retrieved his book, but not before seeing some other clutter in the drawer that was vaguely familiar. Cocking his head to the side curiously, he set the book down next to him and rifled through the contents of the drawer to see what he had in there.

He pulled out a worn strip of photostock paper that had obviously been folded and refolded several times; the creases were covering almost every inch of the photostrip, as old and worn ones inevitably would. He raised it up to his eyes to examine it, and broke into a smile.

The pictures were several years old, but he had no trouble remembering the day they were taken. It had been about this same time of year, right after he and his friends had sorted out the Secret Santa business. No one had wanted to go shopping with Alice, so of course he'd volunteered.

He supposed it was best that way. She was always so happy when she did, and no one else could have appreciated that as much as he did. He loved her smile, her laugh, and he got them in droves that day. They were trying to figure out presents for their Secret Santa recipients, and the truth was, that was the first and so far only time he had drawn her name.

It was a bit hard, trying to buy her present while he was shopping with her, but he managed somehow. He lied and said he'd drawn Bella's name so that it wouldn't look weird if he got something specifically for a girl. She had believed him, naturally.

It had taken several hours, but finally he'd found what he thought she'd really like for Christmas. It was a delicate necklace; one medium-sized pearl of a pink sort of colour on a long silver chain, and Jasper felt he'd done pretty good. Pearls were her favourite, as he remembered her mentioning at some point.

After shopping, Alice had seen one of those little photo booths that seemed to inhabit any place where herds of people went, and had decided she'd like nothing more than for them to get photos for each other, and some together that they could give to their friends. She made him go first.

The first frame had been nothing special, an obviously posed face, and she had stuck her face in, saying for him to smile. He obliged, and she approved, then ordering him to make some sort of silly face for the last frame. Then it was her turn.

Of course all the pictures she took were damn near perfect; she always had been photogenic, unlike most people. His favourite of the photos though was the last one, in which she tried out her silly pose. In it she was laughing while holding up a peace sign on the one hand and pumping her other first in the air. He chuckled every time he saw it, and even now, several years later, there was no exception.

Finally there were the pictures for their friends that they took together, which were mostly silly. Though Jasper did clearly remember how nervous he'd felt being in that small booth with her, their legs touching, and in one of the frames, with their arms around each other's shoulder. It was probably one of the closest times he'd ever came to kissing her, but he had reasoned with himself at the time it would be very shocking to her if he had just gone and kissed her out of the blue. So he hadn't.

It was times like these that he wished he had.

* * *

**Author's note: Make sure you check out me and Kayanne's contest entry, "Sex Gods & Limo Rides" for the KittenMischief contest, and if you love it, give us your support! Other than that, how was this chapter? I know you guys are opinionated people, so let me know.**


	17. Complications

**Step FIVE: "Action is an act that one consciously wills and that may be characterized by physical or mental activity."**

**Song of the step: "All At Once" by: The Fray.**

**Song of the chapter: "Moscas En La Casa" by: Shakira. (Song title translates to "Flies In The House." It's a beautiful, sort of sad-n-lonely song. You'll probably love it.)**

**Quick note: I'm hosting a contest. Oh yeah, you heard right! The details are on my profile, so check it out; I'd love to see some entries from you beautiful people!**

**-x-x-x-**

**Chapter Seventeen: Complications.**

Alice was very glad when everyone left her house after breakfast. As much as she enjoyed having her friends all over, and hanging out with them, she could only stand so much of it. Particularly a certain blonde who she was still wary of, even though her and Emmett seemed to be very happy together. She was glad for that; he so deserved someone he could love and not just date/sleep with, but Alice still had her issues with the girl.

Everyone had gotten fairly wasted the other night, and so past a certain point, her memories were somewhat fuzzy. She did remember the first part of the evening, the awkward dinner, the drawing of the names...and that one point in time when she'd seen Dallas and Jasper going out to talk. She wondered what they did talk about, as Jasper didn't seem to like Dallas all that much from what she'd seen.

He probably thought he was hiding his distaste well, but Alice knew better. She'd known Jasper since they were kids, she knew when he was angry or sad or bored at something. She knew his little habits, both old and new, like how he now occasionally wore reading glasses. She was the only one that knew about the glasses, and she thought it was funny how he'd asked her not to let anyone know about it. He looked so cute wearing them, but she wondered why he cared so much about people finding out about it. Whatever the reason, she hadn't told anyone about it.

Now that they were all gone though, she had about an hour or two to herself before Bella came over. They were going to go shopping to get their presents squared away. It had been a tradition for a few years now, and even though Bella wasn't a big fan of shopping, she still went.

Dallas was going home for the day, and currently he was upstairs packing a few things and getting ready. He'd told her he was going to get a little work done, visit some of his friends, all that stuff. She'd asked him if he wanted to go shopping, but he said he could handle it on his own. She wondered whose name he'd drawn, because it might be a little difficult for him to know what to buy, since he only really knew Bella and her.

But since she had time, she stepped into her home office to work at the wedding favours for her client Tanya's big day. The favours were these little "rosebud" stems with almonds replacing the flower parts. The almonds were dipped in some sort of vanilla frosting, and would be delicious. Attached to the rose stem was a little tag about the couple, the date of the wedding, and the place. Also the other favours Tanya was having were these tiny silver bells with lavender ribbon tied through a hole in the top. They'd be convenient to ring at some of the highlights of the reception.

Alice began with the bells; they were by far the easiest thing to put together. All you had to do is tie the ribbon through, and fashion it into a pretty bow, and then it'd be done. She took the task slow though, finding it very soothing work. The radio in her office played softly in the background, and thinking about getting the bows right kept any other unpleasant notions clear of her mental process.

She worked on like this for a good time, and then she heard someone calling her. Setting aside one of the last bell-favours, she left her office, shutting the door behind her. She made a mental note to find a box in which to store the completed favours.

Alice finally found Dallas waiting outside, all ready to go it seemed. She shut the front door, and turned to him.

"So, going home?"

"Yep, I'm headed home," he said, smiling brightly at her.

"Have fun," she said mildly, not really sure what else to say, though he looked like he was expecting more from her.

"Alice, before I go..." Dallas began seriously now. "I just wanted to..." he trailed off, looking thoughtful as he stepped in a bit closer. She gulped suddenly when she figured out what he must be up to. She tried to back away, but she seemed to be rooted to the spot. His arm tightened on her shoulder, and he leaned his head down, just barely kissing her. He pulled away after only a second or so, but there was no reprieve or break until he kissed her a second time, a bit more forcefully.

Frightened, she heard the sounds of a car driving down the street, and pushed at his chest, willing him to let go of her. He did so reluctantly, and she was relieved to see Bella walking up to the house, looking somewhat pissed. She was walking faster than usual and seemed to be muttering something to herself. While Dallas was watching Bella, Alice took the opportunity to slip back inside the house. Let them have it out with each other, I can't take it anymore! she thought frantically to herself.

As soon as she reached him on the front porch, Bella's hand flew at his face, slapping straight across with a loud "thwack" sound. He recoiled slightly, his hand flying up to touch the site of the blow. Where her hand had made contact was now slightly red, and looked like it must have stung terribly.

"I cannot believe you," she hissed. "I asked you to help, not to get attached!"

"Hey, hey now Bella, I never promised anything about gettin' attached, it just happened," Dallas asserted himself.

"You should have known better!" Bella pressed on, "You're ruining everything now!" She raised her hand again threateningly. He backed up a little bit, intimidated.

"I really genuinely like her Bella. Is that so wrong?"

"Damn it Dallas Ethan Fletcher, you need to get a hold of yourself! Can't you just get over the fact that Jenny left you? I will NOT have you using my best friend as a imitation-rebound-girl! I just will not! She's so much better than that!"

"Don't bring Jen into this---it's not why I'm doing it," Dallas replied darkly.

"Yeah right. Because it is just so _coincidental_ how they look similar. Short, dark-haired...okay so maybe Jen had longer hair and a tan, but still it ain't _that_ much different," Bella concluded. "And I'm not buying that crappy answer. You never got over her, I understand that. But you don't need to go ruining other people's happiness to get yours."

"Like I've said, that's not why I'm doing this! I like her, not Jen. Jen left me, I'm getting over it. This is seperate."

"No it isn't. And I'm not letting it happen. You will back off, and that had better start now. Or I swear, I will call your Momma and let her know what her baby's up to. And you know as well as me that she ain't gonna be too pleased with you, Dallas."

"Bella...please don't call my momma. She doesn't need to know about this," he said quietly.

"Maybe she does," Bella suggested, hands on her hips.

"No, she doesn't. I'm sorry. But I like her, Alice I mean."

"You're not supposed to be meant for each other. She loves Jasper for Christ's sake. How hard is that to understand?"

"Well I don't see him doing much about it. So why have your best friend, as you called her, waste away her life pining for such an ineffectual asshole?"

Thwack. She slapped him again, and he backed up again.

"I will not have you talking about him like that. He's like a brother to me, Dallas, and he's not an asshole. I think you should just go home and stay there," Bella said unhappily, giving him a firm look as he took it all in. He sighed.

"Fine. I'll go home. But you cannot stop me from saying goodbye to her."

"Go ahead and try. But be quick about, I'm waiting."

Dallas went to the front door, turned the handle, and was met with resistance. Not only had Alice gone back inside, she'd locked the door on them both. Bella and him exchanged glances, and she went over to the door as well. She gave it three firm raps against the wood, and shouted, "Alice, let us in!"

No response.

"She's not going to let either of us in," Bella concluded. "She probably doesn't want to talk to us. You will go home, like I said, and stay there. She doesn't want to talk to you, and I don't think you saying you like her will do any good. It's bad enough that you practically mouth-raped her. I'm going home too."

"Fine."

* * *

She was situated in her bed, hiding out under the covers, the blanket from Jasper's house wrapped around her. She wondered vaguely if he even knew she had it, but then let the thought go. She shouldn't try to avoid thinking about what had happened today. It needed to be dealt with.

When Dallas had kissed her, it was necessarily him that had scared her. It was the feeling of being boxed-in, of settling for less than someone she really loved. She didn't want to end up with the sidekick, she wanted the superhero. She wasn't going to be one of those girls who settles because that's all she has. She was either going to have all or have none at all. She wasn't going to settle for mediocre. No way.

Tears ran down her face as she thought about it some more, and cursed herself for not remembering to wear waterproof mascara today. She probably looked like a trainwreck.

Why does love have to hurt you so much?

Why can't it just be simple?

She just didn't understand. How could she love him _so_ much, beyond reason or sanity, and he not feel even an inkling of the way she did? How was that even possible? It just didn't seem right in her mind. And why couldn't he, who was nearly perfect, find the love he deserved? Why did fate have give him such a bum card? And why did she, the one who hardly believed in love at all, have a man who liked her? Especially when she didn't return his affection. It was just so strange and completely illogical....

She laid in bed and cried some more, hiding partially under the covers as she mused on it some more.

Sometime later, how much later she had no idea, she heard a knocking at her front door. Alice ignored it. She didn't want to be disturbed from her pity party. And if it was Dallas, she just didn't want to see him. She wouldn't even know what to say to him.

A few minutes later, she heard moving around downstairs, and she felt a slight trace of horror encompass her. Until she heard the voice, that is.

"Alice, I know you're here, so I want to talk to you."

* * *

**Author's Note: Some of y'all wanted someone to get back at Dallas, namely Jasper, but guess who did it? Bella of course! So, I have to ask, what thinks you of that? tell me in your reviews, and if you're interested, join the contest I'm hosting---details are on my profile.**

**Oh who is in her house? -nods- I'm sure you have guesses.**


	18. A Unexpected Helping Hand

**Step FIVE: "Action is an act that one consciously wills and that may be characterized by physical or mental activity."**

**Song of the step: "All At Once" by: The Fray.**

**Song of the chapter: "Tire Swing" by: Kimya Dawson.**

**Quick note: I'm sort of sad. Only 8 reviews last chapter. The last few it's been over ten, even sixteen at one point. -kicks can desolately- Review? Please? Oh and join my contest. I'm looking for some entries. -nods-**

-x-x-x-

Chapter Eighteen: A Unexpected Helping Hand.

_Last Chapter: A few minutes later, she heard moving around downstairs, and she felt a slight trace of horror encompass her. Until she heard the voice, that is._

_"Alice, I know you're here, so I want to talk to you."_

* * *

Alice paused for a moment, vaguely wondering how she'd got in her house after all. She thought she'd locked everyone out. Apparently not, it seemed.

"Alice! Your car is here, you cannot fool anyone. Where are you at?" the voice demanded forcefully.

"Bedroom," she called, her voice sounding strained. Probably from the crying, she guessed. She heard footsteps coming down the hall quickly, and before long there was a creak as her bedroom door opened. If she hadn't recognised the voice, Rosalie was probably the last person she would have expected to see in her doorway.

"Jesus, what are you doing? Burrowing in your bed? You look like hell," Rosalie informed her unapologetically, sitting on the edge of Alice's bed. She checked over Alice once more, and then kicked off her heels. "I can see this might take more than a few minutes," she explained when Alice looked at her questioningly.

"Why are you here? And how did you get in?" Alice asked.

"Well I told Emmett I just wanted to hang out, but really I wanted to ask you about some things. And as to how I got in, you may have locked your front door, believe me I checked, but your back door on the porch...not so much."

"Oh," Alice remarked, a sheepish look crossing her face. "So what did you want to talk about?" Rosalie was being strangely nice, and she decided to try and reciprocate. Bella had said that she _could_ be nice...and Alice wasn't going to be bitchy at her if she was trying to make up for it.

"Well, I was going to ask you about that Dallas fellow. First off, I assume he went home?"

"Yeah, just a little while ago," she answered, editing out the whole fiasco that had been involved in his leaving.

"So, I just have to ask...what the hell was with him and you?! Where did you even meet him? It's like he came out of nowhere, and all of a sudden you were just...together. I guess that's what I'm curious about. It's all a little weird, and so some clarification would be nice," Rosalie finished.

"I um...Bella introduced us." It wasn't technically a lie, Alice thought. She did set us up.

"Really? So you two were just attracted to each other right off?" she pressed.

"We just tried it out, kind of like a blind date."

"I see. Let's cut the crap. You're not attracted to him at all, are you?"

"Why would you say that?" Alice wondered.

"I'm very perceptive, you might say. It's just that watching you two together the other day, you had no physical chemistry. When he put his arm around you in the kitchen, you looked...well I'm not sure the exact word for it, but all I can say is uninterested. There was no vibe whatsoever. It was as forced as an arranged marriage, Alice," Rosalie explained, counting off reasons on her fingers like the commandments.

Well, no use hiding it. "Okay, so we don't have chemistry. Yes, I don't really like him. Why do _you_ care?"

"You along with everyone was nice to me when I moved here. I'm just trying to repay you all somehow, and if you're dating someone wrong for you, let me be the kick in the pants you need, Alice. I'm good at that sort of thing, or so I've been told," Rosalie remarked, smiling secretively to herself. Alice guessed that a certain boyfriend of hers was the one who had said so, and the thought made her slightly despondent. She wished that she had that sort of thing with Jasper, an inside joke or happy couples memory.

"All right. So I'm not seeing him anymore. So there's nothing for you to do really."

"Are you sure about that? Because you seem pretty tore up for breaking up with someone you never were attracted to in the first place, and you don't strike me as an overly-emotional person. So are you sure that nothing or _no one_ else is bothering you?"

"I..."

"There must be..." Rosalie said, her eyes boring into Alice's. "And I think I know who it is..." she sang, and Alice felt anxious. Did she know? How could she even? Alice felt she'd hidden it pretty well, excepting Bella, who was her best friend, and knew her way too well not to catch on. Rosalie however knew nothing about her for the most part, so how would she know Alice that well? Was she really as perceptive as she said?

"Who do you think it is?" Alice inquired quietly, her head just peeking out from under the afghan blanket.

"Aha! You do like someone!"

"Was that a trick?" Alice shot back.

"No...well sort of. I know who, I believe, but at least I'm right about you liking someone in the first place," Rose clarified.

"Oh. Who do you think it is then?"

"I think you love Jasper."

Alice let out a breath, and trained her eyes down at the comforter on her bed beneath her. She was dead-on, it seemed. But why did she even really care? She'd dated him. Was she just trying to spite Alice now? If so, Alice was going to have a talk with Emmett about his new girlfriend and her serious personality issues. Looks were not enough in a relationship, and she didn't want her brother, as she considered Emmett, to be anything but blissfully happy for whoever he ended up with.

"Hello? Earth to Alice? Am I right, or completely wrong about it?" Rosalie asked.

"No, you're absolutely right," Alice admitted. "I do love him. I always have."

"Knew it," Rosalie added softly. "Want to know how?"

In spite of her thoughts on what Rosalie might have to say, Alice nodded her assent. It could hardly be more devastating than things have been lately. A deeper part of her really, genuinely wanted to hear Rosalie's thoughts. Maybe a somewhat-outsider's perspective would be useful in some respect.

"Well, when I was dating him, you know how reluctant he was. And when I told you we broke up, you acted very strangely. Made excuses about...garland? That was fairly transparent Alice. I'm sure you think I'm pretty much a whore. I am, I cheated on him, and I'm sorry. It was a rash decision that I should have thought about better. It's just...I love Emmett. I've never met anyone I've felt so strongly about, and I was intending to break it off with Jasper at some point, but I was still unsure of how he'd react to that. Can you understand that?"

"I suppose," Alice replied grudgingly. "I just felt bad for him. I know now that he doesn't care, but still, at the time I first heard it, I reacted rather rashly myself. I'm sorry for thinking that about you, Rosalie," she apologized.

"That's okay. I understand why you would." Rosalie smiled at her in a friendly sort of way.

"Anyway," she continued after a pause, "I just got the feeling that you weren't really friendly to me ever since I dated him, so I put two and two together. I couldn't figure out any other reason you'd have to hate me, especially since when you first met me, you were so nice. So the only reason I could come up with is that you love him."

"Good guess. I do love him, it's just that he doesn't reciprocate. Sometimes I feel like his little sister or something. But to me, I could never think of him as just a brother, like I do with Emmett. He's just...I don't know," Alice sighed, "Taking words from you, I just love him. I can't really explain why."

"I don't think he thinks of you that way," Rosalie said. "And by goodness, I'm going to prove it. You are attending Tanya Denali's wedding, are you not?"

"Of course, I have to see my finished product!" Alice insisted matter-of-factly.

"Perfect. I have everything thought out. First, you are going to ask him to be your date. There is nothing that sparks romance or incites lust like going to a wedding. Second, you are going to dress in something sexy yet classy. Enough to turn him on, but not look like a slut. I'll leave that personally to you though, you know what you're doing clothes-wise. Next, you are going to flirt with him. Do not be shy. And don't mind the other details, I'll take care of it, and if I need help, I reckon I can get Bella to help me. Just rely on instinct when you're with him. I repeat: Don't be shy. It gets you nowhere in life," Rosalie ordered, laying out the guidelines.

"All right. I'll try it. It's not like anything else has worked, right?"

"Exactly," Rosalie clarified. "This is guaranteed to get some sort of reaction out of the fool. At least by the end of the weekend, you might know whether it's a lost cause or not."

"I really hope it's not. I just don't think I could ever even want to be with anyone else. I'm stuck on him so bad, it's nearly pathetic. This blanket..." Alice said, fisting the afghan in one hand to draw Rosalie's attention to it, "It's his. I don't think he think he knows I have it, but...well I do."

"Aww, sweet, you have a momento. You really must like him," Rosalie teased.

"Thanks for your support," Alice joked with her. "It really warms my heart to be teased about my blanket."

"His blanket you mean?"

"Okay, whatever. It's so mine now. Even if he doesn't like me, I'm keeping the damn blanket. It smells like him, and it keeps me warm."

"Keep it. I doubt he'll notice."

"Ah...I can't wait for this wedding now. Thank you so, so much Rose. You have no idea what this means to me, and even if it doesn't work out, you have my eternal gratitude for even trying to help."

"You're welcome."

* * *

**Author's note: So...bonding and an unexpected helping hand. The girls made up with each other. It's partially why I had Rosalie talk to her, both to help, and so they didn't hate each other any more. I hope that makes sense, and hopefully you enjoyed that bit. If not or if so, let me know in your review.**


	19. Interruptions

**Step FIVE: "Action is an act that one consciously wills and that may be characterized by physical or mental activity."**

**Song of the step: "All At Once" by: The Fray.**

**Song of the chapter: "Every Morning" by: Sugar Ray.**

**Quick note: So you all were pretty surprised when Rosalie showed up. But you all seem to think the plan will work out. I'm glad you have some faith in it, because Rose is the one with the best advice, after all. Anyways, a really great story is "Down The Rabbit Hole" by: casket4mytears. You should seriously check it out. It's so intriguing, and there's great "Alice In Wonderland" details entwined into the story. Summary of the story: Alice goes on a trip to find out about her past.**

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Chapter Nineteen: Interruptions.

"Hey Bella. What's up?" he greeted his friend.

"Nothin, just kind of wanted to hang out. Oh, and I have some good news and some bad news," Bella explained, sweeping past Jasper as she walked into his house. He watched her disappear off into the kitchen, curious as for what the news was. However, he found her pulling a soda out of the fridge, and she half-turned while still looking into the appliance. "Did you want one?" she offered, which made him chuckle.

"Sure. You're such a great hostess with _my_ house Bella," Jasper teased, taking a seat at the table by the window. She smiled and fished out a second can to bring along with her as she sat across from him. She flipped the tab and took a small sip of Coke before looking back at him. Getting the hint, he opened his too, and took a sip. She nodded teasingly.

"So, what news do you want to hear first?"

"Oh, why not the bad news, so you can cheer me up with the second installment."

"Dallas kissed her today."

Jasper's fist tightened around his drink, making a small dent in the aluminum. His eyes narrowed slightly. "And how could there be _good_ news, exactly? Excuse me, Bella, but I'm just not seeing the silver lining here. An explanation would be nice."

"Do you want details?" she said, confused.

"No. Not really," Jasper growled. "Just hurry up with the good news."

"Alice locked us both out of her house," Bella began to explain. "I slapped him, and basically told him to stay home. And then she wouldn't let us back in, either of us, so he left and I left, and well basically that's it," she finished lamely while he stared at her, now taking the postion as the one that was confused in this conversation.

"So, what's the good news? That she locked you out?" Jasper asked incredulously, setting his can down on the table.

"No, Jasper, that's not the good news. The good news is that she locked _him_ out. She basically pushed him away, which means she doesn't like him! Isn't that great?" Bella said, grinning enthusiastically. He however, was a little too quiet for her liking. "Jasper? Good news, right?"

"Yeah I guess."

"You guess? You guess?!"

"Yeah, I guess. It's good-ish news, but it's iffy. But it just leaves me more confused. If she doesn't even want to kiss him, then why date and have him stay in her house? No, Bella I think she's just shy perhaps. She likes him, but maybe she saw you coming and didn't want to get caught like a teenager coming home from prom," he explained. "Like you told me earlier, she's never had a real boyfriend, so she's probably still shy about public displays of affection," he reasoned.

Bella wanted to scream that he was deluding himself, and she hardly understood his reasoning. How could people in love be this stupid? Urgh! But before she could get out this passionate philosophical declaration, the phone intervened by ringing.

Jasper stolled off into the living room to go pick it up, while Bella was left to her own devices in the kitchen. It took him a minute or two to return, phone in hand, but she could hear him talking to whoever had called. When he came back in the room, he sat back down across from Bella to finish the conversation.

"Hey Alice---"

"Mm...I guess so."

"Yeah I'm good. Visiting with Bella---what?"

"We're just shooting the breeze, nothing specific. Why'd you want to know?"

"Okay. So is it a whole weekend sort of thing?"

"Go home on Sunday? Yeah that works out, I'll have time to grade the kids' homework, so I won't fall behind on anything... Okay, so what do I wear? Tux? Do I need a tie? Yeah all right, I'll find it.... Yep, I've got the shoes...."

"All right. I'll see you then. Bye Ali," Jasper concluded, smiling to himself slightly, which made Bella feel a bit happier. It must have been something good Alice had said to him. By the sound of it, she'd invited him somewhere...for the weekend. Could be _very_ good, Bella added.

However, her musings were cut short by her cell phone ringing in her pocket. She was not so amused to find out that Emmett had somehow changed her ringtone _again_. Now it was "The Rain, The Park, And Other Things" by: The Cowsills. He just had something for the song. Probably the whole "I love the flower girl" aspect of it, seeing as how Bella had a nursery. Or maybe just because the song was on _Dumb & Dumber_. It was hard to say which was Emmett's main motive.

Seeing the call was from Edward, Bella held the mobile up to her ear and pressed the button to talk. "Hi Edward. What's going on? Something happen?"

"My brother happened," Edward said grimly. "He invited himself and Rosalie over for dinner with us tonight."

"How'd he manage that?" Bella wondered.

"I'm still not even sure how I ended up agreeing to it, but it's an early dinner. I'm really sorry. I could just go pick something up if you want. Emmett won't care if it's Chinese or something easy," Edward offered, sighing to himself on the other end of the line.

"No, I'll cook for them. I'll just head over to the store right now and get the fixins' and then I'll be home," Bella informed him.

"Do you want me to do anything?" he asked.

"Um, set the table?" she suggested.

"That I can do."

"See you later then."

"Ok. Love you, and bye."

"Love you...bye," Bella concluded, hanging up her phone. Jasper was waiting patiently for her to be done with her call.

"I've gotta dash, sorry. Emmett strikes again, and he's invited himself and Rosalie to dinner with Edward and I. So I do need to be gettin' started on the cooking, and that requires a trip to the supermarket. I'm gonna have to say goodbye," she told her friend, who nodded calmly.

"Somehow I'm not suprised. Emmett loves your cooking."

"Yeah, and that man can eat a lot of it," she joked. "All right then Jasper, I'll be going. We'll talk later, okay?"

"Sure."

* * *

For dinner Bella had whipped up a quick salad and steaks, not having much time to cook anything else. However, you'd think it was culinary heaven by the way Emmett went at his food, going for seconds and most definitely complimenting the chef. Bella wasn't sure if he'd just missed her cooking or why he'd wrangled his way over for dinner in the first place. She only really found out after dinner, when her and Rosalie were washing dishes in the kitchen.

"So Bella, I've come up with a plan," Rosalie had said casually. "In fact that's why I convinced Emmett to get us invited to dinner tonight. I wanted to talk to you about it, as a co-conspirator or whatever you'd like to be known as. I know you've been trying to get them together for a while now."

"Yeah, a _long_ time. Well, at least it's seemed that way. It hasn't gone how I wanted it to go at all...oh hell, what's your plan?"

"He and her are going to spend the weekend and go to her client's wedding. I told her to dress sexy, and not to be shy, and well, I have some other tricks up my sleeve yet. Want to help me? We can start by booking their hotel room for them," Rose said, smiling in a devious sort of way.

"Why the Cheshire grin?" Bella inquired.

"Well, I did say _room_, not _rooms_. You might also say _a bed_ rather than _beds_."

"Oh," Bella breathed, a grin appearing on her face. "That's just pure evil genius."

"Won't they have fun with that? By the time either of them figures it out, the place will be so booked up with the other guests that they'll have to live with it! I wonder what'll happen? Bella, I'm also gonna need you to help Alice pack. When she's not around though. Remember when we were on our shopping trip the other week? I do recall her snatching up a rather gorgeous blue teddy at some point. Make sure that ends up in our friend's suitcase. Hopefully it'll be put to good use..." she trailed off suggestively.

"That's fine, as long as I don't have to hear any of the gory details," Bella stated. "I may be her best friend, but I do _not_ need descriptive mental images of him buck-naked. I've already seen Emmett that one unfortunate time before college..." she finished, shivering at the memory.

"What unfortunate time before college?"

"We don't speak of that night. It's better that way."

"What do you mean, you don't speak of it?! What did you two do?"

"Hey, it wasn't the two of us, it was the five of us, thanks!"

"Great Bella, that makes me feel _loads_ better to know. Friggin five of you doing something you won't speak of. That just gives me all sorts of happy thoughts, like gumdrops and rainbows and oh, let's go with...crazy orgies?!" Rosalie said, her temper flaring.

"No, no it wasn't like that!" Bella insisted. "It was just us five, and we were having a last hooplah before we went our seperate ways for uni. Emmett got a little tipsy, and tried to get us all to go skinny-dipping down in the lake. Needless to say he was the only one 'bold' enough to do it, so we ended up seeing more of him that we ever really wanted to."

"Oh. Good, because by the way you were telling me, it sounded _way_ different."

* * *

**Author's note: Next chapter will be the wedding weekend kick-off. I'm sure you guys are as psyched as I am. I'm hosting a one-shot contest by the way; details are on my profile, as well as there is an example story for the contest on my other account, "Risque Tendencies". Check it out, it's an Alice/James. (Not as bad as it sounds...or maybe it is, who knows? It's all a matter of opinion after all). You know the drill, give me my review fix. Tell me whatcha thought.**

**Additional note: This chapter was sort of fast-paced because there's not alot going on in it, and well frankly it's late where I am, and I am TIRED. Hope you liked it anyway.**


	20. Riding In A Car With A Boy

**Step FIVE:**** "Action is an act that one consciously wills and that may be characterized by physical or mental activity."**

**Song of the step:**** "All At Once" by: The Fray.**

**Song of the chapter:**** "The Girl From Mars" by: Ash.**

**Quick note: I hope y'all are excited, and I know some of ye are since you told me in the reviews, so let's get this show on the road! I've got plans for this weekend, and they'll prolly tickle your fancy. Also, I bet you Bella's probably thinking to herself about now (about Rosalie's scheme) "Why didn't I think of that?!" -she slaps her forehead- (*Wink* Kristine!) So, read on, enjoy, and then _por fin_, review!**

-x-x-x-

Chapter Twenty: Riding In A Car With A Boy.

"Bella! Bella, hey what did Rosalie do about the rooms? What name did she put them under?" Alice asked, ducking out of her bedroom. She headed down the hall to her office to pack up the wedding favours to bring with her. While she was out, Bella slipped covertly into the bedroom, rifling through the drawers of Alice's armoire until she found the drawer where all her lingerie was stored. The electric-blue teddy was stacked near the top, and so she grabbed it. Moving over to the already-zipped up portmanteau on the bed, she opened one half and stored the teddy inside as per Rosalie's instructions.

"Um, yours obviously," Bella shouted back, zipping the suitcase back up and adjusting it slightly so it didn't look like anyone had moved it. All this cloak-and-dagger stuff made Bella nervous, even though she knew it was only Alice she was trying to evade.

Bella preferred things to be out in the open generally, and that tactic would not work on this particular "mission." Rosalie was off doing something similar at Jasper's, though she hadn't told Bella what she was slipping into _his_ luggage. Bella figured whether she wanted to know or not, Rosalie would probably end up telling her once the two prospective lovebirds hit the road. The girls were having lunch later with Emmett at the gym, so they'd probably talk then. Unlike Bella however, Rosalie somehow had gotten the idea in her head that Emmett could actually keep a secret, so they were going to fill him in on the situation at that time. Bella was still unsure if he could or not. From past experience...not really. However, maybe the importance of this secret would keep his lips sealed.

Though she did wonder if it was really a secret any more. Technically the only one who wasn't filled in on the scheme for this weekend was Jasper, and did having one person only in the dark qualify as a secret? Bella didn't think so.

"Bella! Can you help me carry the boxes out to the car? I could really use your help..." Alice trailed off from down the hall as she packed the last box of finished wedding favours, taping it shut for good measure. She did not need them to get ruined and have Bridezilla on her ass this weekend, and it was not her priority to have to remake even one of the little bells or almond "rosettes." She wanted everything to go off without a hitch so that she could focus on Jasper.

"Sure, okay," Bella acquiesced, heading off to help her. She too was hoping this weekend would work out like it was meant to, so that her two best friends could _finally_ get their happy ending. It had taken much too long for this all to come about, and she didn't want them to be apart any longer.

* * *

"So, tell me about the weddin'. Who's marrying who here?" he inquired as she turned onto the highway.

"The bride is Tanya; she's from that group of the adopted sisters that moved down to Algodon from Alaska a few years back. She's marrying Stephen Lagorio. He was the architect who supervised the urban reconstruction of the city three years ago. He has his own firm, apparently. Very rich, and the Don Juan of Algodon from what I've heard. I'm surprised someone like him is settling down with one woman at all," Alice commented, her eyes focused on the road as she drove along.

"What's Tanya like? I do recall you having some issues with the bridesmaid's dresses an' her a while back," Jasper began, "Did you get them to try something more...reasonable?"

"Oh you remember that? Yeah, she wanted this mess of sequins splattered all over everything, but thank goodness I got her to tone it down. Of course I made her think it was all her idea though. That's the only fail-safe way to change a bridezilla's mind. Outside of wedding planning though, she seems nice enough. Very friendly and her sisters are as well. Her maid-of-honor, her youngest sister Kate is especially sweet. Much too hyper though, I swear she has sugar in her veins!"

He chuckled softly. "I guess then that she likes coffee?"

"No, tea like me actually, which is pretty cool."

"Ah, but coffee is so much more American," Jasper teased. "Where'd you two come from, Britain?"

"Just because coffee happens to be disgusting caffeinated muck does not make me un-American for drinking the alternative. I'm sure Kate'd agree with me if you asked."

"Coffee's just fine. I like it."

"Well you always were a little strange..." Alice teased back. "Ask anyone, and they'd back me up on that one as well."

"If that's true," he said, "then you're strange by extension, hanging out with a so-called weirdo such as myself."

"I'm never strange," she replied stubbornly, "merely unique."

"Keep telling yourself that, Ali," he added, laughing unabashedly. "Unique is merely a euphemism used to cover up the truth you can't abide, ergo you're strange."

"Stop your teacher talk, Jazz; you sound much smarter than you act."

"The way I choose to act is perfectly reasonable. It's not my fault my words are bigger than some people's. How does one act intelligent without using big words anyway?"

She giggled. "You're so conceited."

"Let's talk about something else," he suggested. "So anything else new with you I don't know about?"

"Well," she started to speak seriously, "I've been thinking about building my own event planning firm. I'm just not sure if this is the right time, if I'll be able to pull it off, where I'd even base it at, the business aspect of things...all of that stuff. Maybe I'm just dreaming, but it sounds like a good idea at least half the time I think about it."

"Alice, it sounds brilliant," he said immediately. "I don't know why you'd think you couldn't pull it off. You're the best damn planner I've ever seen."

"You're a little biased," she said weakly, working hard to keep her grin in check. _At least I don't have Bella's blushing problem, or he'd see right through me_, she thought silently to herself. _Now if he would only compliment me on something other than my work...not that I don't like it, but still...a girl likes a compliment on other things too, at least now and then_.

"Me, biased? Nah. It's pretty plain to see. People always love what you create for them, and well, I know I'd never have half your imagination, with all my smarts and fancy words," he said, his lips threatening to twitch into a smile. "I'm more of a scholar than an artist anyway."

"So, when you get married, I can plan it, right?" she asked tentatively. He gritted his teeth slightly.

"Naturally," he answered tonelessly. "There isn't anyone I'd rather have." _Double entrendre, self?_ he added inwardly.

They were quiet for the period after that, both trying to return to more pleasant mindsets as to not spoil the trip for the other. She focused on driving, and he stared out the side window, musing about how smart or not, he just never knew what to say to her half the time he opened his mouth to speak. Maybe that was his problem. Maybe he needed one of those earphones where people could coach you on what to say. But that was rather ridiculous and only happened in movies anyway, usually backfiring when the date/other person figured out the main character had a microphone in their ear. So that was out for sure.

Along the way, the two made a stop for fuel just off the highway, where Jasper grew rather irritated at a certain other customer at the station.

"Ooh, Skittles! They have the tropical ones too, those are my favourite. Do you want anything, Jazz? Gum maybe?" she asked, bending down to reach a packet of her favourite candy. He enjoyed the view for a brief moment, and then glanced around cursorily. It seemed that one of the other customers, a middle-aged man, lecher most likely, was also very appreciative of what he had no right to see. Jasper however wasn't really willing to share, whether she was his or not. So he edged ever so slightly to the side, perfectly blocking Sleazy's view, not caring if it pissed the other man off. He didn't deserve that sight.

Then once that crisis was averted, he remembered she had asked him a question. "Uh no, I don't want anything." _Just you, and for Sleazy to get his ass back on the road before I send it packing there....Gum however, not so much._

"Okay," she said, picking out her Skittles and heading for the counter to pay. He stayed close behind her, and when he seemed to be dealing with a rather persistent pervert --- Sleazy had moved over by the cool storage to get a better view --- he tried a new tactic. Looking pointedly at the bastard, he lazily wrapped one arm around her. Seeing Alice's confused look, he leaned in and whispered in her ear.

"That man over there was staring at you in disgusting ways. Maybe he'll take a hint now."

"I see," she whispered back. "Thanks."

"Anytime Ali."

Of course, she rather liked the feel of his arm around her, and had been hoping it had been a spontaneous decision on his part. Trust him to just be protecting her dignity though...she should have known she wouldn't get _that_ lucky. They were friends, but unlike some friends, they weren't touchy-feely like that usually. Not a lot of hugging or such.

Once they paid, it was back to the car and away from any roaming voyeurs.

* * *

They drove for several more hours before they even got closer to their destination, a small-yet-posh town named Longueville. It was where the bride's groom, Stephen was originally from, and they were having the wedding at the country club and resort located just outside of the town, titled as the same. Included in the country club was a golfing course which Alice had no doubts the men would put to good use that weekend. The girls though, most likely they'd just head into town to shop or have a drink at the pub. All in all though, there was something for everyone to occupy their time with, so it was a good choice of location.

"Okay, take this exit," he called, studying the map closely as the navigator. She hit her turn signal and drove smoothly onto the off ramp, her fingers drumming on the steering wheel as she slowed behind a car waiting to make a turn at the end of the ramp.

"Which way now?"

"Go left."

"Right-o," Alice replied, giggling slightly when she thought over the words in her mind. _Left turn but I say right._ He shook his head at her but smiled, his attention back on the map as he read off the next few directions for their route.

"Follow that road, we'll go over a bridge, and it's the second drive on the left. Then we just go up the hill, and past the golf-courses, and it'll be the buildings on the right I believe. Then we can park and well...we'll be there," he concluded, folding back up the map and tucking it in the pocket of the car door.

Ten minute later, she had found the drive to the place, which all along was closed in by white split-rail fencing which looked fresh against the emerald-coloured grass and the slate colour of the concrete road on which they were traveling. The buildings themselves though --- the resort, the country club, and the golf store plus clubhouse --- were also very beautiful, a subdued yellow colour that looked like it had been there a while, giving it that desirable "old building" effect. Alice absolutely adored it.

They found a parking space in the middle of the lot, and then were faced with the daunting task of transporting their luggage. "Let's go see if they have a luggage cart," she suggested. "I bet you they do, being a resort and all. That'll make it easier to take up to the rooms."

"Okay," he consented. "I'm sure they have 'em as well. Let's just do that."

They headed for the lobby of the hotel, where he was relegated the task of getting one of the carts while she went to check in. As soon as they entered the place though, their plans were changed when a porter offered to do the transport instead. Still, Alice went to check in, and he headed back out to the car with the porter to supervise.

Remembering what Bella had told her, Alice remembered that the reservations were under her name and not his. So when she reached the clerk at the front counter, she knew exactly what information to give her. "Arabella," as the girl happened to be called, was very amiable, and handed over the keys in good time.

And they were now officially set to go.

* * *

**Author's note: Heh, I'm registered to do C.P.R as of this morning. I know y'all probably don't care, but I thought I'd say it. Anyways, you know the drill about how reviews give me my sunshine back and all that jazz, so hopefully you're feeling generous enough to write one! And as for roaming voyeurs, I can speak from personal experience. It wasn't in a gas station, but similar situation anyways. Me. Starbucks. London --- Regent Street one by the (Laura Ashley ? boutique, possibly). I was just trying to get my tea and this man who was in line behind me --- with the funkiest monobrow I'd ever seen --- could not stop following me with his eyes. He even moved around so that he could catch a better glimpse of me. Sort of creepy I suppose, the damn roaming voyeur. So basically I got my tea and hightailed it back out to keep shopping. End of story there, thank goodness.**


	21. Stowaway Items And Sneaky Friends

**Step FIVE:**** "Action is an act that one consciously wills and that may be characterized by physical or mental activity."**

**Song of the step:**** "All At Once" by: The Fray.**

**Song of the chapter:**** "Where Is My Mind?" by: The Pixies. (Yeah, I know, lol---but it really is an awesome song).**

**Quick note: Dedicated to you all as an V-Day present; will you guys be my valentines? -cue cheesy music- Hee hee. Hmm...how will they react when they realize they're going to be sharing a room...and bed? I'm sure you want to find out, so read on! (P.S.: Rosalie was feeding me snarky remarks throughout this... she said I needed to make her character more assertive. So she did, and yeah, thank her later, Jasper.)**

-x-x-x-

Chapter Twenty-One: Stowaway Items And Sneaky Friends.

While Alice was waiting for the men to come back with the luggage in tow, she examined the card keys, and found what was surely a discrepancy. They had the _same_ room number on them! That couldn't be right, could it? Rosalie said she'd take care of the room_s_, at least that's what Alice thought she said. _No, calm down_, she steeled herself. It's one of those rooms with the two beds...or at least it'd better be. If not, she was going to have to make a phone call pronto.

A few minutes later, Jasper and the porter came in from outside, and she led them up to the room, nearly holding her breath the entire way there.

Her hopes were completely shot when she noticed the one double-bed in the centre of the room. She just managed to compose her face into something resembling calm before Jasper looked at her, probably thinking the same thing she was. _One bed? How's that gonna work out?_

"Uh, we could always get another room or I could---" he began, but she cut him off, remembering that this must've been done for a reason, and while she didn't know what the purpose was, she was sure as hell gonna find out from Rosalie about it soon.

"No Jasper, it'll be fine. It's only for the weekend, and well, that's not too bad, is it?"

_No, it's very bad. Much too tempting to have you sleeping right next to me..._ he thought, nodding anyway to her statement. She beamed at him, and he thought he imagined a spark of mischief flare briefly in her gaze, but when he looked again, it was gone. That was, if it had ever existed at all. Maybe his subconscious was just trying to placate him some; who knew, really?

His greedy side won out, and he found himself not really caring all that much about the sleeping arrangements. "That's fine, Alice."

"Okay, good. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to make a phone call," she said, grabbing her mobile from the side pocket on her purse. He nodded and sat on the bed.

"I'll just get settled in while you're out."

She slipped outside of the room, heading down to the end of the hallway where there was a small balcony area. It was usually used for people who wanted to come outside and smoke, but no one was there at the moment, for which she was glad. Alice didn't particularly relish the scent of cigarette smoke, and it was best that she be alone because she might get a little frustrated when she was on the phone, and an audience wasn't necessary by any means.

Sighing, she leaned against the railing and dialed the seven-digit number on her keypad, and then held the mobile up to her ear. She tapped her foot against the concrete floor and waited for her to pick up. It seemed to take an awfully long time even though it was only about three rings of a wait.

"Hello Sweetie," a teasing tone greeted her, and she grimaced. _Of course she'd be perfectly cheery about all this. She probably did it on purpose._

"Hey Sneaky," Alice shot back, "So you'll _never_ guess what happened when Jasper and I got to the hotel!"

"You finally jumped his bones?" She sounded slightly hopeful.

"Not exactly, Rosalie Hale. I think you must know what transpired, after all you were the one in charge of booking the rooms. Except that when we got here, it was only one room...with one bed. Curiouser and curiouser, don't you think? Or am I to believe that was some sort of accident?"

"I might've orchestrated that particular happening, but it's all for your own good. Have you unpacked yet, by any chance?" Rosalie inquired in a strange tone; one Alice wasn't particularly trusting of at the moment. It sounded like she was up to something...well something _else_ that is.

"What do you mean, have I unpacked?"

"Well this is pretty obvious but...maybe put your clothes away, put shampoo in the bathroom... that sort of deal?"

"Why would you care if I've unpacked?"

"Oh, I might've had Bella add in some things you _forgot_," Rosalie said, emphasizing the latter in a disapproving tone.

"Forgot?" Alice asked.

"Yep, forgot. I do believe we said something about being flirty this weekend and Bella and I just thought that maybe having certain pieces of clothing might aid you in that endeavour. That's all, I promise. Now, go along and get unpacked, you'll see what I mean," Rosalie instructed, and Alice could imagine the smirk on her face when she said that.

"Fine."

Meanwhile Jasper was back in the room, going through the luggage to get at his own. He'd only brought one suitcase, but with his luck, it was under all of Alice's stuff. He got on his knees and sorted through the bags, setting hers to the side until he found his bag at the bottom. He set it over on the bed and sat down next to it, opening up the thing so he could get at his clothes. Once he'd got the zipper undone, he noticed there was a _surprise_ inside...or rather _surprises_.

His eyes widening slightly, he quickly shut the suitcase, zipping it up for good measure.

"What's up...you look like you've just seen a ghost," Alice noticed as she let herself back in. Jasper supposed the silver lining in this situation would be she hadn't seen the stowaway items that had been slipped into his luggage.

"I'm fine. Actually, I need to make a phone call. I'll be right back."

She giggled softly, "Really? Sure you're not just copying me?"

"Sure, Ali, think what you wanna."

"Imitation's a form of flattery, you know."

"Yeah I know. I'll be back in a few minutes, it shouldn't take too long. Don't have too much fun without me."

"Do you want me to unpack for you?"

"Uh...no that's okay. I'll do it later," he said on his way out, rather glad she couldn't see his face at the moment, or she might've thought he was acting strangely. One thing Jasper knew for sure is that if she unpacked that suitcase, she'd have some serious questions about his intentions....

He headed out to the smoking balcony at the end of the hall, and dialed a number he had very recently memorized. Seconds later, an amused-sounding Rosalie picked up the phone, and greeted him with an overly-enthusiastic, "Yes Jasper? What did you want to talk about?"

"Rosalie, did you get in my suitcase at any point?"

"Ooh, so you found them. Nice! So, did you read the note too?" she inquired.

"The one that said 'USE THESE!' in all-caps, and ends with 'happy hunting, xoxo Rosalie'? Oh no, didn't quite get to that yet," he answered sarcastically, beginning to pace the balcony as he talked. He always had a hard time sitting still when he was on the phone normally, and his frustration just made him more restless.

"Jesus, get a hold of yourself. They're just in case you grow a pair and actually try and get laid this weekend. Don't be such a baby," Rosalie complained on the other line. He clenched the fist that was not currently holding his phone, and exhaled angrily.

"I'm not a child, I'd just rather not have all that... _stuff_ in my luggage. What if she gets into my bags and sees that? What conclusions do you think she'll draw, Rosalie? Because in the real world, sweetheart, bringin' those sorts of things on a weekend with your _best friend_ does seem a teensy bit perverted."

"I live in the real world, ass, thanks. And I think you'll be even more pleased to know that I gave you instructions...well technically Emmett drew them --- I asked him to draw a cartoon about picking up girls, don't ask --- so they're in a guy's point of view, making it fairly easy unless you're completely determined on suffering all weekend sleeping next to her. Just think, Jasper... you, hard, pressed up against her back, your hands going lower and---"

"Rosalie!"

"Okay, okay, how about we make this something like... you guys cuddling in bed, innocently of course, with your hands to yourself like the pair of big sappy _virgins---"_

"Rosalie. Hale."

"Wow, you saying my name is particularly unappetizing. Remind me never to intiate phone sex with you, it'd be a lame ride on your side of the reciever."

"Oh yeah, because that's definitely something I_ want_ to think about. I'll get right on that."

"I know you would, but I'd rather you just get on my dear friend Alice."

"Anything else?" he asked icily.

"Go. Read. My. Instructions."

"Emmett's cartoon?" Jasper said dryly.

"Hey, I was pretty proud of him!"

"What, did you give him a gold star?" he teased.

"No, but I did this thing where we---"

"Never mind," he said quickly. "Some things are better left unsaid, at least in your case."

"Anyway, I've gotta go do someone, so maybe you can follow my example?"

"Goodbye Rosalie."

"Have fun Jasper. Don't get _too_ much ass this weekend!"

He hung up on her, noting to himself that her words were hardly helpful at all. Maybe he'd read the cartoon though, just for kicks. See how bad Emmett's drawings were, no matter how she said they were good. You couldn't exactly trust the words of a person who had to hand out A's and stickers to finger-painting five and six year olds. The only problem would be shifting through the stuff she'd packed for him; lube, a blindfold, handcuffs, and enough condoms to start up a small brothel. Trust _Rosalie_ to do this to him.

He bet she was laughing her ass off about now, and grimaced.

What _was_ he going do about this?

* * *

**Author's Note: And for an extra-special treat, you can find Emmett's cartoon (as drawn by me---I draw a mean stick figure if I do say so myself) on my profile under the 'Links' section at the bottom. It's quite...entertaining really. Short and simple. And well, you know the review drill. Go on now, I know you have something to say, or maybe just laughter to sound out in type-age. Who really knows?**


	22. Sink Or Swim Reflex

**Step FIVE:**** "Action is an act that one consciously wills and that may be characterized by physical or mental activity."**

**Song of the step:**** "All At Once" by: The Fray.**

**Song of the chapter:**** "So Contagious" by: Acceptance OR "Vulnerable" by: Secondhand Serenade.**

**Quick note: I'm glad you guys liked last chapter, it was a little funnier than most. Good to see that some people share my sense of humour. AND OhMyJesusJasper BLINK F'IN 182 IS GETTING BACK TOGETHER!!! (Sorry, had to have my overjoyed fangirl moment. -winks- My goodness when my best friend called and told me, I screamed into the phone....) Oh and the link to the pic of Alice's dress is on my profile under the "Links" section. Purty, ain't it?**

-x-x-x-

**Chapter Twenty-Two: Sink Or Swim Reflex.**

"Okay, so this is just the rehearsal stuff. After the mock-run-through's over, we can leave and do whatever we want. The bridal party will be splitting up to do their individual bachelor/bachlorette party activities. Now we can just call it an early night, or we can also go to the fête the groom's parents are putting on. That will be hosted at their estate. Which would you prefer to do, Jasper?" Alice asked him.

"What do you want to do?"

She smiled, "It's not about what I want to do, silly! You're my guest, so you pick!" she encouraged him, giggling slightly at his nonchalance. Don't get her wrong, she thought it was pretty cute of him, but from time to time, making a decision on his own was cool too.

"Well..." he paused, "Why don't we go out then, to the party. I'm sure you want to show off that pretty dress of yours."

_I wouldn't mind showing _you_ off either_, he thought to himself, grinning on the inside at the prospect.

* * *

When she had said "estate", Jasper had figured the place had to be a good size. Never though did he expect the absolute _palace_ the Lagorio's owned. Formed entirely of white-washed brick, the mansion was beyond belief, and it really ought to be in a movie or something. It just screamed "We're wealthy, so enjoy our hospitality while you can!" It seemed odd to him that some people actually lived like that, practically swimming in the cash. It was surreal.

They arrived sometime after the other guests, who had eaten dinner here while the rehearsal wedding ceremony was in full-swing. Alice and him had sat through the ceremony...well rather he had, Alice was pretty much active that whole time, giving cues to the people and discussing with Tanya how they might tweak some of the variables of the thing.

Like at the Freedman's anniversary party, they'd danced some, highly enjoying each other, but of course not stating that out loud. Neither could imagine them dancing with any other partner than the one they were with at that time, and nor did they want to. It was just pure, unadulterated bliss at the party. They both drank some, talked with some of the other guests, but mostly they danced. Many an attendee at the party would muse on how striking they looked together, how complimentary the one seemed to be to the other person in the equation.

They had a splendid time. Simple as that. Things were going great.

When they got back to their hotel room, it didn't seem to matter that it was only one room, one bed. The usual awkwardness a situation such as that would hold was gone, replaced by the euphoria of that night so far. They took turns getting changed into pyjamas in the bathroom, and yet even then, neither was feeling nearly fatigued enough to crawl up and go to sleep.

So they didn't.

"Let's hang out for a little while. We haven't really used the balcony yet," she prompted him.

"True. We could do that I suppose," he said in a teasing sort of tone, smiling at her. In all, he couldn't believe how...well tonight had gone so far. He was just so happy, and she seemed to be too. It was almost unreal to him. Not since their teenage days had things been so easy around each other, well at least when it was just the two of them by themselves. Being in a group made it easier usually. But this, just the two of them...no it was usually not so easy. Too much awkwardness and trying not show your true feelings to the other person.

"Cool," she replied, going over and opening the door headed out to the balcony. There was a long bench pressed up against the railing, and she took a seat in the near-middle, with him on her right. It wasn't terribly cold tonight, but neither was it very warm. The moon was hidden by clouds mostly, but a few stars managed to peek out amongst the dark-blue sky, playing hide-and-seek with the two lonely souls on the balcony that watched them.

Alice and Jasper sat there for a good piece of time, looking around, but mostly up at the sky. Neither really knew much of astronomy, just a few recognizeable constellations such as the Little and Big Dipper. Inevitably though, the silence grated on them both, Alice first. He, sensing that, took it upon himself to speak.

"It's nice out here. So...quiet."

"Yeah, I kind of like it. I mean I love the city, but out here you can really see the stars. It's a real novelty," she replied, an almost-curious look playing around her lips as she took another cursory gaze up at the midnight-coloured heavens, committing it to memory. This night held promise.

They struck up a conversation, not just sticking to the usual 'safe' subjects of friends, material objects, and their careers. They ventured off into more personal matters, like opinions on music, movies, life in general. Such things they'd not gone into since they were teens. It was nice to see how those tastes had changed or matured. That information only threw into sharper relief for both him and her how even though some things changed, social bonds were either strengthened or broken. The latter was not their lot, thankfully.

She really, really loved him.

He really, really loved her.

Neither knew though.

That had always been their problem, but tonight, tonight she had resolved that she was done waiting on him. Trying was all she had left in her arsenal. And by Jove she was going to try tonight. It seemed to be going well so far, they were both in a pretty relaxed mood. Perfect moment, right?

Possibly.

Now or never. Sink or swim. _Just go for it_, she encouraged herself. _The worst he can do is say no._

She tilted her head to the side, and placed her arm on his shoulder to steady herself. Their eyes meeting, she stared unblinkingly back at him for a moment. His breathing grew unsteady, and he gulped, finding himself anxious under her penetrating yet enticing gaze.

Then, leaning up, she gently placed a kiss at the corner of his mouth, teasing his skin with her soft lips. The fingers of her free hand tangled themselves in the hair at the back of his neck as she moved in closer, and finally placed her lips on his. He gave into the sensation, his hand coming up to rest just behind her elbow, slowly tracing circles on her bare arm.

The feeling of her kissing him, finally kissing _him,_ was starting to make him want more. Needfully he kissed back harder, trailing his tongue along her lower lip. She opened her mouth for him, and he slipped his tongue inside, massaging hers with his. As they continued to go at it, he gently laid her down on her back, climbing on top of her carefully as to not put his weight on her. Reclaiming her mouth, he ran one hand up the side of her body, leaving it to rest at her waist.

Her tongue tangled with his, and they only broke apart to breathe. Both their minds were oddly blank, in a state of subspace where they relied on sensation alone.

Her hands freely roamed up and down his back, her fingers coming to rest just underneath the hem of his shirt, feeling the welcome warmth of his skin. It was just as she'd always dreamed, only a little better, a little more descriptive. Even with her imagination she couldn't have come up with this as what it'd be like to make out with Jasper. Goodness knows she'd thought about it plenty over the past few years. Alice used to scorn the descriptions cheesy romance novels attributed to it, but now she saw that maybe they were based_ a little bit_ in reality.

Slipping her hands back from around his waist, she attempted to tug at the drawstrings on his pyjama pants so that she might slide the offending piece of clothing over his hips and off his body entirely. She needed this. Him. She had for so long.

He pulled away from her kiss that time, and stilled her hands. His face seemed more alert now, as if he'd just shaken himself out of a sort of trance. "Not right you idiot..." he muttered to himself darkly under his breath, leaving her utterly confused. "Alice, no. We...cannot do that. You are drunk, and you're going out with that Dallas guy...the asshole," he continued, saying the latter words too quiet for any human soul to pick up on but himself.

"I..." she began, but stopped. He was unbelievable. Really? Didn't he want her?

"I'm not drunk," she settled. "I'm not."

"You've had three glasses of wine. I saw you drink them. Of course you're drunk," he reasoned, which only served to irritate her more.

"I had one glass of wine, thanks. The other two were juice because I expressly did not want to get drunk, seeing as how I have to wake up early to herd the bridal party! And I don't...oh nevermind. You'll only believe what you want to. You've always been stubborn like that. Goodnight; I'm going to bed because well..._what else is there_?" she fumed out loud, pushing him away so that she could get up to head inside. He was left dumbfounded as he tried to process what she meant by all of it. He was stubborn? What wouldn't he believe, in her opinion? Damn it, he thought. _I think I just screwed this up_.

* * *

**Author's Note: You _think_, Jasper? -rolls eyes- She just wanted to get you out of your pants... (Who wouldn't? -snick) Check out my two new one-shots "Jaded" or "Suckered By Love", they're quite excellent so I've heard. Also, if you haven't already, hop on over to my other profile "Risque Tendencies" and check out my James/Alice lemon, if you're into that sort of thing. Reviews are as desirable as Evian and a cold bath after a hard day digging for fossils in the Montana desert. So basically, really desirable. Also, weirdly enough, I had my first kiss outside when he and I were watching the stars. And this was during a wedding weekend. It didn't end as badly though.**

**The faster and more you review, the faster I put up the next chapter, which I have nearly written.**


	23. Rejection's A Bitch Called Wasted Time

**Step FIVE:**** "Action is an act that one consciously wills and that may be characterized by physical or mental activity."**

**Song of the step:**** "All At Once" by: The Fray.**

**Song of the chapter:**** "Let's Talk About Spaceships" by: Say Hi To Your Mom. (Weird title, but seriously...this song is the epitome of what this story is about.)**

**Lyrics: "Let's talk about spaceships or _anything_, except _you_ and _me_, okay?"**

**Quick note: Yep, I'm pretty sure you're upset about last chapter. Let me just point out the classification of the story: Drama/Angst. Sure there's romance, but mostly those two tend to prevail. I can prolong angst a long time, just see my other story "Fate Had Other Plans." However, I am not as cruel as in that story. Soon there will be a make-up between the two lovebirds. There was just this brief misunderstanding, and then they're gonna have it all out, and they'll feel eons better, which leads to lovin'. Comprende?**

-x-x-x-

**Chapter Twenty-Three: Rejection's A Bitch Called Wasted Time.**

When he woke up that next morning, he felt like the world's biggest asshole.

Of course she wasn't there when he did, honestly he didn't expect her to be. She probably _hurried_ to get away from him, he imagined. She had her work to do, and it wasn't like she was going to linger just to see him. Why should she?

So no, he wasn't surprised. He didn't linger in bed either. Jasper got up, and on his bedside table he found a note in her handwriting, instructing him in a scathingly impersonal tone that quite honestly hurt. He deserved that though, he knew that deep down inside he didn't deserve any kindness from her, no warmth after he'd pushed her away like that.

_--Jasper,_

_Your clothes are hanging up in the closet. You can go have some breakfast downstairs and do whatever, but be in the church at noon. The ceremony will start at twelve-thirty, and they'll want to get everyone seated before them. I may be a little late, but I'll try and be there at noon to help you get a seat._

_--A._

Sighing, he set the note back in its place, and resigned himself to following its instructions. What else could he do, really? He'd already screwed up royally, he was still a little confused about why she thought he was so stubborn, and he wanted her not to be mad at him. He needed to fix this somehow. But how?

He thought about it the whole time he got ready, and even when he headed over to the church. In the end, he drew one possible solution while waiting for Alice to come show him where they were going to sit at.

"Um, Bella? I think I may have messed things up pretty bad," he admitted reluctantly into the phone. There was a stagnant silence on the other line for a good few seconds before his friend deigned to comment on the situation. When she did, it was about what he'd expected.

She sighed, and then said "Jasper, I can't believe you sometimes. Oh wait, Rosalie wants to talk to you."

"Is she with you?"

"Yeah, she, Emmett, and I are having brunch. Why?"

"That's just unusual. I thought you didn't like her."

"No, I do. Anyway, stop changing the subject. Okay Rose! Jesus, you can talk to him now, don't be impatient with me!" Bella admonished on the other end, sounding quite irritable. He could faintly hear the familiar sound of Emmett chuckling in the background. Typical.

"What did you fucking do this time?" a venomous voice inquired. He flinched a little.

"Nice to talk to you too, Rosalie. And as for your question, I'm only half-sure."

"Well then you'd better explain what you _think_ you did wrong."

"Okay. So last night she and I were hanging out on the balcony, just talking for a while before going to sleep...and then out of the blue, she slowly leans in to kiss me. Now I'm not going to lie, I kissed her back at first. I wasn't really thinking I guess. I mean she's trying to have a relationship, dating and all, and I kiss her back. It's like I'm encouraging infidelity! So when she was trying to get my pants off, I realized that's what was going on, so I stopped her. I reminded her about her beau, and well she was drunk anyways, so it wouldn't have been right even if she was single," he explained.

"And then what happened? How'd she react to your...reminder?" Rosalie inquired; emphasizing the last word like it was something awful, like bloody, rank-smelling roadkill or the like.

"She said I was stubborn, and started to say something, but then said that I wouldn't understand anyway. I've no idea what she was going to say to me, so I guess I'm really confused. All I know is that she's not happy with me, and that I want to make it better. Any suggestions?"

"Well first off, was she drunk really? Because I don't see her as the kind of person who gets wasted when she has work to do the next day. And secondly, maybe you ought to take your head out of your _ass_ and actually listen to what people have to say. Bella told me that she told you about what happened with Dallas, and do you even fucking remember what she said, or did it just all go over your head or something?"

"Um, I'm in a church, can you cut the cursing?"

"No, not if you're being a complete idiot. Plus, I'm not the one in a church, and I'm pretty sure that the Lord would want me to chew you out too," she stated matter-of-factly.

"Fine. Okay, she _said_ she drank one glass of wine, and the others were juice apparently, but they all looked the same to me."

"Did it ever occur to you that she might have had oh...grape or cranberry juice? They look quite similar to wine, you know."

"Maybe. But anyway, so what if she locked Bella out of her house? Like I told Bella that day, she's probably just shy about P.D.A. Why else would she be lettin' him stay in her house, of all places, if she wasn't datin' him?"

Rosalie made an angry sort of noise on the other end. "I honestly don't know what she sees in you. But since I'm committed to helping you idiotic people out, let's look at it another way. You think she's shy with P.D.A. So tell me: exactly _how_ shy was she when she was trying to rip your clothes off on a frickin hotel balcony? That doesn't exactly scream shy or naive to me, mister. But maybe you have a differing opinion. I wouldn't be surprised; you're in such denial as it is. Yeah? Oh, I think Bella has something she'd like to add."

He braced himself for the extra verbal onslaught, only knowing that he probably really deserved it.

"Jasper!"

Yeah, Bella was pissed-off at him. Not a good thing.

"I...I just can't believe that. You do realize what you've just done to her, right? Let me lay this out for you. Do you remember how you were so upset you couldn't even tell me about what happened with you and Alice when you were seventeen? Yeah, that's about how bad you've hurt her, you insensitve idiot. She likes you so much, and she was just trying to let you know about that, but then you have to go and make assumptions."

"You know what they say about assumptions..." he could hear Emmett chime in the background. Regularly he would have wanted to punch him for saying something snarky like that, but this time Jasper just listened. Also in the background he could hear the telltale sounds of stomp-like pacing, and knew that Rosalie was probably taking out her frustration on the poor floor.

"I'm so sorry, I don't... I want to apologize to her, to make her...but I have no idea where to start," he lamented into the phone.

"No, no I'm not helping you, Jasper. Not this time. You screwed up bigtime, you're gonna fix it yourself. And I hope you know you had _better_ fix it, or no one is going to be too pleased with you, especially not me."

* * *

Alice sighed. It had not been the best of nights, or mornings for that matter. From the moment she'd awoken, she'd practically run on auto-pilot, completely numb in the mind. Throwing herself into the task of getting all the members of the bridal party ready to go for the wedding had taken her mind off the "incident" for a few hours' time, but now the task was finished. She had the space to think about it. She didn't want to. She really, really hated thinking about it.

Rejection _hurt_.

It was awful, and frankly she just wanted to go home, curl up under the blanket she'd taken from him, and cry her eyes out again, exactly like she'd done after kicking Dallas out of her house. She felt just as crappy as that day, only many times magnified because of this unique situation.

And to really think of it, the rejection wasn't all she was feeling.

She was pissed. Pissed that he rejected her, and most importantly, so fed up with the realization that she'd wasted _years_ of her life pining after a man who ended up rejecting her. Wouldn't anyone be a little chuffed if placed in her situation? She had every right to be mad! All that time when she'd had frickin tunnel vision for him, all those years she could have dated, made love, kissed, enjoyed...all squandered because she thought that maybe he'd come around soon, that him announcing his returned affections was just around the corner.

What if she'd missed it, her real "true love", her soulmate? What if because of her foolishness she'd missed that shot? Was she going to be alone forever now? Could she even stand such a thing?

At this stage, Alice wasn't really sure. All she knew is that she had to get through today and tomorrow morning, and then she could go and cry when she got home. It was the only and by far the simplest truth there was out there.

Now though, was the hard part: actually getting through it. She was headed to the church right now to show Jasper where they'd be sitting, and then she'd actually have to sit by him. It was not a thought that gave her pleasure. Usually it might, but after last night, it only filled her with solemn dread.

She found him waiting out in the front part were a few people were still milling about. To be honest, he looked almost contrite, pained even when his eyes alighted on her. Of course she knew though that he was just trying to keep her as a friend. He'd made it perfectly clear that friends was _all_ he wanted from _her_. She was undecided as to whether she'd even still want that. It seemed degrading to just take him back into her life after such a rough dismissal of her affections. No, she'd have to think about it first.

Not able to speak to him without wanting to scream, she only gestured for him to follow her into the church. Thankfully he followed without complaint, though she could see he was itching to say _something_, whatever that something might be. Alice wasn't really in the mood for an apology. She was very, very upset with him, it was as simple as that.

They sat seven rows back on the bride's side of the aisle, near the end of the row for the quick escape. Her hands were folded in her lap, and she was determinedly looking anywhere but in his direction, her lips pursed, and the feeling broadcasted off her person was that of "Don't even try, I do NOT want to talk to you." Even so, if there was one person who was going to risk his neck and try, it was Jasper, naturally.

"Alice..." he began in a hushed tone.

"Not now, it's starting," she rebuffed him quietly, nodding towards where the minister and the groomsmen had settled at the front near the alter. "Don't interrupt; it's rude."

"I need to talk to you," he continued anyway, not really caring about manners at this point.

"Talk to me later."

"No, not later," Jasper insisted, "now."

A few of the other wedding-goers shot them dirty looks as the lavender-wearing bridesmaids started to sashay down the centre aisle, the flower girl soon afterwards. He didn't care about them either, just Alice listening to what he was trying to say to her. He wanted to apologize so badly.

"There's no time," she said simply. "And we can't be rude."

"This is important," he reiterated, his eyes boring into hers, willing her to understand the importance of it for herself.

"I will listen to you afterwards." Seeing the dissatisfied look on his face, she grudgingly added, "I promise."

After all, why not hear what he had to say for himself? It could hardly hurt more than what had already occurred. She felt suddenly more upset. _It couldn't hurt more_. How many times had she told herself that, only to find that it _could _hurt more? Many a time. Musing on that particular notion, she felt compelled to protect herself, to not listen. But Alice never broke her word if she could help it.

She would listen. Maybe it would hurt more. Maybe it wouldn't.

She'd just have to wait and see.

* * *

**Author's Note: Link to her dress that she wore to the ceremony is also on my profile (It's the red one, black ribbon). Ooh, next chapter he's gonna try and apologize. I wonder how that will go...what thinks you people? Will she forgive him right away, should she? (I've got it planned out, but I'd like to see what you think still.)**


	24. Author's Note!

**Hi! **

**Myself and TheOnlyPancake are starting a movement. It's the Team Mike movement. We both agree that fics these days totally ruin his image. They either make him a creepy stalker, a rapist, or a too-annoying and childish character. Mike was a very sweet and loyal person, and we feel he deserves some effort on the part of us writers to clean his image up a bit. **

**As an author yourself, I ask if you'd be interested in writing a pro-Mike one-shot for the movement? You'd have creative freedom, of course. It could be a crack pairing lemon, it could be a drabble, or it could be a chapter/section of the books you'd like to see in his POV. Whatever floats your boat. **

**What do y'all think?**


	25. Speaking, Unspoken

**Step FIVE:**** "Action is an act that one consciously wills and that may be characterized by physical or mental activity."**

**Song of the step:**** "All At Once" by: The Fray.**

**Song of the chapter:**** "Sweater Song" by: Weezer. (Random? Yes. But it's awesome. You know you love it.) Also, "Drag" by: Placebo.**

**Quick note: Eh, I've been so so naughty, keeping you all waiting. You can thank the band Garbage and the Über-Sexy Shirley Manson for their song "Push It" which immediately made me get my writing groove back. Well them and LP's "Figure.09". Anyways, onward! Hope you love me for it! You'll see what I mean.**

-x-x-x-

**Chapter Twenty-Four: Speaking, Unspoken.**

For both Alice and Jasper, the wedding seemed to go on _forever_, the ultimate never-ending event. They were happy and everything for the married couple, but both were fairly eager for the ceremony just to end already. They needed to talk and mull things over. Maybe figure out this crazy mishap they'd gotten themselves into. Well, also in both their minds, it was really _them_ who had caused it. It was him, even though she'd never ever say that or throw it in his face. Yeah she was upset that she'd gotten rejected, but if anything, he was still her best friend.

So when the minister finally called for the bride and groom to kiss each other, it was more like a reprieve than anything.

After the ceremony, true to her word, she steeled herself first, and then listened to him apologise. They were back in their hotel room; they weren't planning on attending the reception or sticking around for any of the other wedding-weekend festivities. Alice especially was ready to go home.

"Sorry for last night," he began, twisting one hand around in the other, his posture anxious. A few stands of his hair fell across his face as he looked down, slightly covering one eye. _Please just don't stop there,_ Alice wished inwardly,_ I want not to be mad at you, however much I should. Love sucks, I can't even hold a grudge... oh well._

"I didn't mean to say that you were drunk... well I did at the time, but I didn't know that it was just juice, I'm really sorry about that as well. I didn't want to embarrass you at all, but I can see that I have. It's all my fault, and you can blame me if you want. I'm sure you do."

She nodded sadly, and he almost didn't notice it, but when he did, he felt more determined to explain himself even though his reasoning seemed so shaky and unfounded now that he was looking back on it. Slowly but surely, he was running out of excuses that justified his pulling away from her. He wasn't even sure how he felt about that. Everything was so confusing.

"I just realized too far in that you weren't... single. I didn't want to mess up your first real relationship because I care about you, so much Alice, you don't even know. I just wanted you to have a chance to be happy, but then I went ahead and took advantage of the situation."

She sighed, exasperated with this man. He was lucky she liked him so damn much, that's all she had to say about it. And the fact that he said he _cared_ about her did tip the scales in his direction ever so slightly. Not to mention he had kissed her at first. That had to mean something, didn't it? Either way, she might as well put him straight about what was bothering his "conscience" so much.

"About the whole... Dallas thing. He and I aren't together any more. And truthfully, we probably shouldn't have ever gone out at all. It was a pointless thing to do, now that I look back on it. So really, Jasper, I _was_ single. Did you think I would really try and kiss you if I wasn't? I'm not that kind of woman."

"Oh... wow. Now I just feel plain stupid." G_reat going you idiot_... he muttered to himself, feeling a little more self-loathing heaped upon his mind. He had messed this up so much it seemed ridiculous. _Someone should just sew my mouth shut or something_, he added sarcastically.

Alice didn't know what to say to that, so a silence began.

"I'm just so sorry, I... never should have said anything. Can you ever possibly forgive me?" he asked after the pause. "Truth is, I've always lov---" but he was cut short. Alice stood on her tiptoes and pressed a finger against his lips.

She shifted on her feet awkwardly, restlessly, completely undecided as of yet. "I'm gonna need some time to think," Alice informed him, "and you saying what I think you wanted to is going to seriously complicate things. I need to be open-minded. So please...don't."

His face fell, but he nodded. She withdrew her finger.

"So, what do we do now?" he wondered.

"We go home," she said simply. "And then...we think about it. I'm not forgiving you yet, and I may not if that's what I decide. However, it would help your case if you were cool about all of this, Jasper," she added. He sighed.

"Yeah, I can wait...patiently," he added. "If that's what you need."

"Yes."

* * *

They were en route to home, having been driving a considerable amount of time. The whole time she'd been pensive, quiet, and he was starting to rethink his promise of patience. Her brooding silence from the passenger's seat was really starting to get to him. It felt stupid, careless even to not be doing something, pleading his case, anything. For now she was left to her own thoughts, and God only knew what kind of light they put him in.

_He couldn't just lose the love of his life. Not again._

Which is why he decided to take a chance, really tell her how he felt. He figured she wouldn't be too pleased at first, but hopefully she would hear him out.

He pulled over to the side of the road, immediately alerting her that something was up. She peered at him questioningly, but he gave her no answers, just hopped out of the car, which of course, set her off quite nicely.

She stormed her way out of the passenger's side before he could jog around to get to her door. She slammed it shut and turned to face him, hands on her hips, a particularly ticked-off expression on her face now that he'd gone and done something so unexpected. He stopped in his tracks, and they ended up about five feet from each other, each a little riled and not quite thinking straight. She began to speak first.

"What're you doing, Jasper? Are you just going to keep us here until you make me talk to you?" Alice screamed, her chest heaving slightly as she took a breath. "Are you just impatient, or are you really that ridiculous? Because I sure as hell want to know!"

"I... I couldn't just sit back, Alice. Waiting for you to say something is _torture_," he sighed angrily, and launched into an old, sour tale.

"God... I mean I never wanted it to end up like this! I thought things were going to be simple, but of course we were teenagers then, and nothing was supposed to be _simple_. We were seventeen, and it was Valentine's Day... and I just thought it would be the perfect time... god... I wanted to tell you I loved you, Alice. And that I had for several years at that point. What I was not expecting is to walk on you getting deflowered by our friend! Ever since then, I just couldn't seem to tell you. I was convinced that since it didn't work out that time, it never would work out. I was just being silly or something; why would you want stupid me anyway?

Her face blanched at the old recollection, and immediately she felt both embarrassed, realising now the full picture of the things. He'd been coming to say he loved her, and what kind of show did she give him? God, it made her want to shrivel up and die. Why had she ever thought not waiting for the right man was a good thing? She could have had _him_, and that would've been a thousand times better, not to mention less awkward for starters.

"I was just so angry, and I felt cheated. I _should_ have gotten my chance, but fuck, I had really bad timing. And it's not like I could stay mad at you or Edward, you guys are my friends, only friends at that, besides Bella and Emmett. I don't make friends easily, but I damn well keep the ones I have." He spoke with feeling, the old emotions drudged back up to fill him.

"So in short, I've been ineffectual. It's my fault, I know. I obviously don't deserve you, or I would've tried harder. But since you still seem to like me, even the tiniest, most inconsequential percentage there is, I'm gonna try harder, because I love you, and well, I would have no reason to like myself if I didn't even try."

"I... haven't been much use either," she admitted. "I love you too, and I never said anything either. So really, you can't just blame yourself. We both screwed it up, together. But Jasper, if you want, we can... make it right. Together."

Her eyes were soft, and he was stunned. She... forgave him? Maybe?

He smiled tentatively.

"I'd like that."

"Good," she replied, returning his smile.

"In fact," he began, "let's start right now. Rewind a little bit to where we... well _I_ messed up. I do believe you kissed me, and then I made a rather large fool of myself. Well hon, would you mind terribly if we tried that all over again? Can I... kiss ya?"

Her grin got wider, and she took a step nearer him.

"I'll take that as a yes," he murmured before bending his head to kiss her, his hands gripping onto her shoulders tightly.

Her fingers tangled themselves into his hair, tugging it none-too-gently, yet he found that this only seemed to arouse him more. His grip on her shoulders slackened only so he could readjust his hands, one going up and ruffling her hair, and the other at the small of her back, pulling her flush against his body. She nipped at his bottom lip, and he parted his lips, loving the feeling of his tongue moving with hers.

Her body felt warm all over, but in the most pleasant of ways. This was passion, and he wasn't holding back now. She was still pissed at both their actions, but she was more turned-on. Fuck she wanted this man, even if it was right here, against the back of the car on the side of the road. At this point, she didn't give a flying fuck where they were or who might see them. She needed him to be inside her, and pronto if she got her way. Goodness knows she'd waited _much_ too long for this.

He lifted her up and onto the car, but she quickly wrapped her legs around his waist securely, drawing him back to her. She bucked her hips against his with abandon, earning her a low growl from him that if anything, was dead fucking sexy. They were kissing like their lives depended on it, hardly caring for such petty things like oxygen or public decency. Those things could all go to hell because they were horny as fuck and there was no denying _that_.

But of course he, always the gentleman, somehow extricated himself from her, and spoke a line that caused her to be okay with not getting it on right there. Or _lines_, really. "Darlin' the Lord knows I want you... badly, but I don't want the first time we make love to be in public," he leaned a bit closer to whisper into her ear, "after the first time though, that's... _negotiable_. What says you?"

"God yes," she whimpered, inwardly praying that he'd floor it so they could get home and get to ravishing each other already. Alice was more than a little impatient, which of course, was quite understandable given their unique situation. And well, she just couldn't resist it when he called her Darlin'. It was quickly becoming one of her newest favourite Jasper-isms.

* * *

Sooner than she could have hoped, he had her pressed against the wall by the front door of her house, not really caring about the neighbours or what kind of view they were getting. Their lips were once again at play, bestowing several open-mouthed kisses on each other.

"I need you," she whispered in his ear, her voice drenched in yearning.

"All right," he replied quietly, pecking her lips once more before he attempted to sort out the keys on the keychain she'd handed over, locating the house key with little effort. Soon the barrier was unlocked, and they were inside, away from the eyes and one step closer to where they wanted to be.

Wasting no time, he scooped her up in his arms, earning a soft giggle from her as he carried her down the hall to her bedroom, _finally_.

* * *

**Author's Note: Well... hmm that was interesting, was it not? I think they _may_ have just made up.... *winks* Whispers: Review and hey... they'll get it on! (Lol). ****However, there is still talking to be done between them, mostly about certain events, and how they _felt_ about it. First though, they're getting out a little sexual frustation, and honestly, who can blame them? And people, if you are a fan of the awesome Mike B.A.M.F. Newton, check out my one-shot, "Operation Get Mike Laid!" it's lovely, so I've been told.**

**Signing off for the evening,**

**Candy.**

**P.S.--- Damn my hair is soft! Random, I know, but it is!**


	26. South of the Border

**Step SIX: "By groups and by individuals, acceptance can be of various events and conditions in the world; individuals may also accept elements of their own thoughts, feelings, and personal histories. For example, psychotherapeutic treatment of a person with depression or anxiety could involve fostering acceptance _either_ for whatever personal circumstances may give rise to those feelings _or_ for the feelings themselves."**

**Song of the step:**** "Hands Down" by: Dashboard Confessional.**

**Song of the chapter:**** "My Sacrifice" by: Creed. (Such a BEAUTIFUL song, I love it!) OR "Decembers" by: Hawthorne Heights. (Also gorgeous and romantic).**

**Quick note: Are you reading this author's note? I doubt it. Extra credit if you do. 17 reviews last chapter?! Awesome. KEEP IT UP. I love lots o' reviews bad or good! Oh and yeah, lol on the chapter's title. I really couldn't help myself. ;)**

-x-x-x-

**Chapter Twenty-Five: South of the Border.**

_Wasting no time, he scooped her up in his arms, earning a soft giggle from her as he carried her down the hall to her bedroom, finally._

They were on her bed now, him lying on top of her, and Alice feeling very excited for that fact. Jasper of course shared her enthusiasm.

His hands ghosted up her sides, invoking old fantasies that he should be in this position, that she would've taken him into her bed instead of Edward. He still didn't know why that was, but he had a mind to speak with her about it later. It was an ache several years old, and it needed to be dealt with. It seemed he couldn't help but remember that, and more as they moved on in their primal dance, their minds in three varying states: nostalgia, lust, and most important, love.

As he worked the cotton tee-shirt off, slowly pulling it up and over her head and arms, gently trailing his fingers against her skin every chance he got, he remembered the first time he'd really noticed her, as a girl. It had been middle school, around the time of the first ever school dance for him and the gang, and there was another type of dance going on, the awkward precursor to high-school rituals, a veritable practice session. There was the learning of moves, steps, and the jumpy body language of stepping forward at particularly confident moments, thinking that _this_ time you'd ask your gal out, only to step back into the crowd of your peers, decided against the seemingly bold move.

Jasper was pretty much sure he'd always loved her, but that had been the time the knowledge had really sunk in. A lanky young teenage boy, he hadn't really grown into his body yet, still going through the beginning stages of adolescence, and for that reason, he was the tall, skeletal-looking one that no respectable girl would want to go to the formal with. It was like a blow to a boy's pride, at least at their school, if you went without a partner, or if you just plain didn't attend at all. So of course, he felt in limbo.

For several hours he'd pondered the decision during classes, until he was in the final one back then, Composition with Mr. Noland. Alice had been in that class with him, and so had Edward and Emmett, but that was suddenly unimportant. He found himself paying attention to her in particular, the way she held her pen nonchalantly between her fingers, hand aloft, elbow resting on the faux-wood desk as if it was nothing less than decorative-couture. She made everything look effortless, and as intimidating as that was, he liked it.

Loved her sweet little face, pink lips, bright eyes, and spiky hair. Everything. It had been then that he'd decided he was gonna make her his. And in junior high, what better way to do that than asking her to the winter formal? It was the grand gesture at that time, and he wasn't going to do anything less.

Of course, he'd forgotten the more traditionalist middle school approach to asking someone out, the note. It was with this approach that he was defeated, his pawn moved back one on the chessboard of life, back to the beginning. Another boy, he couldn't remember who it was now, had used that tactic to near-success, only the kid too met defeat when Alice turned him down, declaring she just wanted to go with her friends and leave it at that. So, they went, as a group of four. It wasn't nearly as fun, but fun enough.

Now he was moving back to her bosom, kissing her taut nipples through the lacy silk of her brassiere, thinking errantly that only Alice would wear something this nice under a jeans and a tee-shirt. It was just so _her_ it made him smile against her, and after a few more, he pulled back, kissing her gently as his hands reached around her waist to unclip the unnecessary piece of lingerie. It was only getting in the way, complicating things. That brought back a few more recollections, only they were a bit older now, fifteen or so, he'd wager.

His parents, god bless them, could be rather lackadaisical when it came to the more orthodox things parents were supposed to do, one example: the infamous "Talk" you had with your teenage son or daughter. He got it at fifteen, much past the time when they'd covered sex ed in school, but somehow talking with his parents, and later just to his dad made Jasper think about the actual connotations that came with that sort of thing more than he did in school. School was boring, it was even annoying, a fly's buzz as the teacher droned on about body parts and avoiding an unwanted pregnancy. Also in school they left out a lot, most notably, self-help. Masturbation. Jacking off. All terms were applicable, and more, as his father listed off when bringing the subject up for discussion. His poor son's thoughts? That he was _really_ glad Mom was not in the room at that point.

Embarrassed beyond any articulation, he'd completed the talk with Dad and asked permission to go out. It was granted, and so he headed down the street to Edward's house, hoping just to hang out with him, maybe Emmett if he was there --- usually was --- and try and permanently block that conversation out of his mind forever. However, fate was a bitch, and apparently liked to torture him just a little. Needless to say, instead of Emmett crashing there for the day, it was a certain little beauty that was hanging out with Edward, sitting on the piano bench, teasing him and trying to coax him into writing a composition dedicated to her. She was so sure of herself then, at age fifteen, employing such joking titles for herself such as "Queen of the Universe" and "The Future Wedding Planner to the British Royal Family, and/or Bride of Prince William." The latter, he could live without, naturally.

Upon noticing he'd joined them, Alice had gotten up from her seat, and ran over to hug him, as was a normal thing at this time. She hugged all "her boys" as she dotingly called them. She was just a bright, hugging sort of person. However, after all that talking with dad, Jasper was a bit high-strung, and every spot on his body seemed an erongenous zone, and her skin was on his skin, and well, colour came naturally to his cheeks as she pressed, squeezed his body with strength for such a tiny little girl. He felt like such a sleaze, but her... parts were developing at that time, and in one area, a bit more than most of her classmates. So her hugging him tightly as she did was bound to... complicate things.

Luckily she skipped off on her merry way before she noticed anything that developed on his end, but that didn't stop him from feeling vaguely humiliated. He excused himself politely to the kitchen, where he proceeded to turn on the cold tap on the sink, and splash some water onto his face, to try and calm down. He tried to will his body to comply, but the problem wasn't going to go away by itself. And he was definitely not ready for any of what he'd heard about that morning, so he just adjusted his pants and went back into the parlour after a series of deep, soothing breaths.

Later that night though, he decided to give it a try. That was the first time he'd gotten off thinking about her. It wouldn't be the last by any stretch.

He kneads her breast in one hand, his mouth gently sucking and nipping at the other. Below him she's sighing lustfully and arching her back, her tiny hands resting lightly on the backs of his broad shoulders, encouraging but not confining. Her skin is warm and each touch he gives her feels electric to Alice, both because she's desired it for so long, and the fact that somehow, he just seems divine at this sort of thing.

Their eyes meet occasionally when she can keep hers open, and no words are needed to convey what is happening between them.

_I love you. I love what you're doing. I hope you love me too. I hope you have no regrets. I want you with me, forever_. _Please show me you want that too._

And then, age sixteen. The first time she'd ever persuaded him to go out with a girl. The first time he had truly and completely made a fool out of himself. With it came his first kiss, unexpected and awkward, but before even that, there had been yet another first. The first time he and Alice had ever argued about... well anything at all.

She had pointed out the girl to him, and in his mind he was frustrated. So he was honest and said he wasn't really interested in What's-Her-Name. She had then gotten more into the subject, explaining that first impressions couldn't be all you based your opinion of a person on. She said Jasper should at least try, that he could never know if it wasn't going to be good for him or not. Some people married their high-school sweethearts, she'd added. It wasn't until now, years later that he finally recognised her longing tone.

She had thought of him as her high-school sweetheart. He... he couldn't even express how happy he would've been, what that knowledge would've done to him at that point. It would've been like a dream come true. Maybe... maybe if they'd gotten together then, they'd be married by now. Maybe... maybe she'd even be pregnant, with _his_ child. He could see that. She'd be so beautiful, and he'd always had a deep-rooted desire to be a father. Only with her though, only with Alice. No one else.

But he'd been a hormonal idiot back then, and he could now admit that yeah, he'd made mistakes.

He'd ended up saying to her, about dating What's-Her-Name, "Why does it even matter? Why do I have to date her?"

"I want you to be happy. You can't.... It's a lonely life when one lives without love," she'd quoted, paraphrasing some important man's saying for her own purpose.

"Yeah, sure, but who finds their true love in high school anyway?" he'd added. And so the argument began, her pleading her side, close to tears at least half the time, and him both stubborn and also hating --- in the back of his mulish mind --- that he could reduce her to tears, just with idiotic words.

All of it came flooding back, and perhaps in response, he leaned back up to kiss her, his hands cupping her face, a sweet, healing sort of kiss. It said what he didn't. That he would never _ever_ make her cry again, not for any reason. He loved her so very much. He didn't want to hurt her.

Her hands went next to his shirt, managing to get him out of it faster than he'd taken with her. Whereas he'd loved her in the process of taking off her clothing, she did it differently, instead lavishing attention on him once he was barechested and laid out on his back. She straddled his lap, getting comfortable there.

She worked down his body, beginning at his neck, placing searing, open-mouth kisses against his skin, causing him to close his eyes, finding that it didn't take very long at all for him to stand at full attention due to her ministrations. He had no doubt she could feel his arousal, she was practically riding him right there, with just a few... reasonably thin layers of clothing between them. His hands went to the button on her jeans, wasting no time with undoing it, yanking the zipper down, and shimmying the denim down over her cute little hips.

Alice got up to get rid of them, taking the advantage of divesting the rest of their clothing at an almost inhuman pace. He was glad; he couldn't wait much longer himself.

She then hopped back up on the bed, where he got rather aggressive, rolling her onto her back and getting himself the top position. Her body, so soft against his toned and muscled form, was like heaven, and the way she was looking at him... he never felt so happy. Never.

"Darlin...?"

"Shh... be with me, Jasper," Alice answered his question, her hands going up to his shoulders again, though this time she gripped them, as if bracing herself.

He pecked her lips once more, and then, he pushed into her.

All they knew was bliss.

* * *

**Author's Note: Thoughts? Kleenex? I dunno, tell me what you thought. Memories help you put everything into better perspective? Anyone sayin' AWWW! at any point? Let me know, I like to hear these things, ya know! -grins- I know, not smutty, but I thought their first time would be a little more... uh sweet? Jeez, I need a better word... let's go with romantic. I think that'll work just fine. However, this doesn't mean that any other... sessions won't be smutty, and/or include a certain dirty-talkin individual? (Oh I think we all know, Dirty-Talking-Jasper rules the world. Hands down, the other contestants can just go home now, lol). SO, review!**

**Signing off for the evening,**

**Candy.**

**P.S.--- As for my hair update, it is still soft. God bless that shampoo, for it is heavenly. Lol, because you all really care about my hair, I'm sure. -rolls eyes with audience-**


	27. Nosy, Aren't We?

**Step SIX: "By groups and by individuals, acceptance can be of various events and conditions in the world; individuals may also accept elements of their own thoughts, feelings, and personal histories. For example, psychotherapeutic treatment of a person with depression or anxiety could involve fostering acceptance _either_ for whatever personal circumstances may give rise to those feelings _or_ for the feelings themselves."**

**Song of the step:**** "Hands Down" by: Dashboard Confessional.**

**Song of the chapter:**** "Some Postman" by: Presidents of the United States of America.**

**Quick note: Aww, last chapter was so fun wasn't it? Hopefully this one is too. Pssst check out my new little story "Walking The Ghost". It's going to be very short, under 10 chapters, and 4 are already up. Features a genuine Evil!Bella who is quite the schemer. It's also all-vamp, which honestly is unusual for me, as I usually prefer writing all-human tales. Anyways, check it out, review it and tell me what you liked/hated, for reviews are like treats to an author.**

**Sad to say, but this story is winding down, innit? Few more chapters left. I know I'm gonna miss it. It's my baby. :(**

-x-x-x-

**Chapter Twenty-Six: Nosy, Aren't We?.**

When he woke up, he thought it all must've been a particularly well-articulated dream. Very sensory, as he could distinctly remember how her skin felt, and how warm her hands were around him, and god... being inside her too. All of it really he could remember just fine, so when he actually opened his eyes, he couldn't help but grin because it was also all very _true_.

It was the best possible feeling, knowing that he now was with the girl he'd loved for goodness knows how many years. That this was just the beginning of the times he'd share with her, for he was in it for the long run if she'd let him. He'd waited much too long for this to become something hasty.

He glanced at her again, and smiled.

Alice was lying curled up beside him, her arms hugging one of the pillows to her, and slowly breathing in and out as she slept. Her hair was especially unruly, sticking up in many different directions, but he could help but love that he was the reason she had sex hair to begin with. He'd be fully content to stay in bed and watch her for a while, but his stomach was tellin' him otherwise. _It_ wanted a snack. Darn hunger....

He glanced at the digital clock on her bedside table. It was almost seven in the evening. They'd slept for quite a time then. He couldn't rightfully say he was surprised, and though he was certainly up for now, he wasn't about to wake up Alice. She could sleep if she wanted to.

Jasper headed for the kitchen, trying to decide what might be best for dinner that he could actually make. He was no professional chef, that was for sure, but he got along all righ' usually. However, while he was pondering on his culinary dilemma, there was a gentle knocking on the door, followed by someone pressing the doorbell button. Apparently they felt the need to do both, which led Jasper to think it could really only be one person at the door. So sighing, he went to open it, knowing they weren't the sort to give up easily.

Smiling grimly, he pulled back the front door, and sure enough, it was Rosalie. He must look a sight to her, Jasper supposed. Shirt off, hair a goddamn mess... not exactly the most innocent ensemble anyone had ever worn. In fact, it earned him a glance from Rose that conveyed but one emotion: shock.

"Really? You have GOT to be kidding me. Seriously. Really?" she said, flustered and disbelieving. He knew what she was pokin' at, so he decided to end her confusion.

"Yeah, really," he muttered, raising an eyebrow at her supposed 'shock' at what was clearly the truth. Jasper knew she was only doing it to be a nuisance, but still, she was doing a good job of what she had set out to do. To annoy. To poke fun. Trust Rosalie to take the cake with this one.

"I'm going to have to see this for myself," Rosalie decided promptly. Pushing past him, she entered the house and set off for the hallway quickly, leaving him standing at the door with Bella, who was clearly just as dumbfounded as he was. The two shook their heads in unison, muttered 'Typical' and he closed the door after ushering Bella inside too. Once inside, they set off down the hall after their friend, walking a bit faster than usual in the hope to stop her.

Of course that didn't quite pan out, and she reached the bedroom before Bella and Jasper got there, and when they did, she was taking a photo with her digital camera, only she must've had flash off, because it wasn't waking up Alice in the slightest. Rosalie took two more photos, and smiled afterwards.

"These are going in the scrapbook," she announced to the room.

"Can I have a copy?" Jasper asked coyly.

"If you behave," Rosalie stated firmly. "Now, time to wake up Sleeping Beauty. You two be quiet, I can handle this myself. Wait, Bella, take my camera, get a pic of this too, I can't wait to see how it turns out. Her face is gonna be priceless!" Rosalie was grinning somewhat manically, and it half-scared the other two, who exchanged looks.

Rose then walked around the bed to the empty side, gingerly climbed on it behind Alice, and then after motioning to Bella to get the camera ready, she pounced. Her hands gripped her friend's on both shoulders, and gave her a light shake before pulling her into an awkward sort of half-hug. Alice's eyes snapped open, and she was greeted by a over-excited Rosalie twittering in her ear, "Wake up Aliiiiiicccee, time to get up! Come on, you lazy bones, let's wake up!"

Alice muttered something seemingly dark under her breath, and flashed a glare at the camera-holding Bella, who quickly pocketed the thing in a feat of self-preservation. She then blinked her eyes twice, before saying in a quite solemn tone, "Rosalie, you crazy bitch, get off me."

Rosalie laughed, "But don't you love me? I could be your new alarm clock!"

"I'd much rather waking up to something else, thanks."

"Ooh do tell," Rosalie replied, wiggling an eyebrow suggestively. "I know I like waking up to Emmett---"

"I feel very uncomfortable all of a sudden," Jasper chimed in.

"Uh, that notion is seconded," Bella added, grimacing. "Rosalie, I think we can all safely imagine what you like waking up to, and it's bad enough that we can, so _shut it_."

"Hi Jasper," Alice remarked randomly.

"Hi there, hon. Sleep good?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"Okay, break it up, you loverbirds. Let's celebrate!" Rosalie suggested. "You guys _finally_ fucked each other. I would like to first say how you should be thanking me personally, I'll take your firstborn as payment, or---" she saw the looks on everyone's faces "a simple thanks will be fine, but I am the Queen of Amazingness, just admit it."

"Ahem?" Bella coughed pointedly.

"And Bella too," Rosalie amended once more. "She got the train rolling, so to speak."

"Much better," Bella approved.

"And I'm not kidding about celebrating. We are going out tonight, you two, Bella and Edward, and Emmett and I. We are going to get drunk, and we are gonna have a good time," Rosalie told them, "so you'd better separate long enough to get dressed and get over to the Brewery in oh... about two hours tops? That time okay with everyone?"

"Sure," Bella said.

"We'll be there, but as much as I love you, Rose, you do need to get out of my bedroom. I have two hours, and I'll be using every minute of them," Alice informed them, smiling pointedly at Jasper, who straightened up a bit more with pride. The other two girls raised an eyebrow and shrugged simultaneously.

"Will do. Come on Bella, let's go get our menfolk ready."

And like that, the two of them were up and out of the room, as swiftly as they'd come in. Similar to being in the centre of a storm, and then still there when it passes on and over you. All in all though, it had been an _interesting_ visit, and like they had said, tonight was for celebrating. Alice hopped out of bed once they were gone, quite refreshed from the nap they'd had. Not to mention her mood was pretty much euphoric, and that didn't look like it was changing soon. _And my... he was looking wonderful_, she thought to herself, glancing at Jasper.

"What'd you have in mind?" he asked.

"Well, didn't you want a shower?" she said saucily, grinning. "I mean, we could kill two birds with one stone."

"That's so efficient of ya," he joked. "And here I was thinking you just wanted me naked."

"That too, silly. But the environment is just as important," she played along. "However, if you lost say..." she danced over to him, her hands lightly tugging the drawstring of his pyjama pants, "_these_, I wouldn't mind so much." She pulled the knot undone, her hand grazing his thigh as she strolled off towards the bathroom, seemingly nonchalant. It was irritating and enticing to him all at the same time. He didn't mind the sort of games Alice wanted to play with him right now.

No, he thought firmly as she pulled off her shirt while under the doorframe of the bathroom, he didn't mind in the slightest....

* * *

**Author's Note: Hee, Rosalie reminds me of my friend. Who would wake me up like that, I'm certain. Actually one time my friend threw soda in my face to wake me up --- Not a great idea, by the way. Very sticky, as I'm sure you can imagine. Ha. Don't try that at home, kiddies! Oh and have a peeksie at the contest I'm hostin with my cohort, TheOnlyPancake. Details are on my profile, our example one-shot (Rosalie/Alice/Jasper) is on TheOnlyPancake's profile, called "The Birthday Girl."**

**HAPPY EASTER!**

**Signing off for the evening,**

**Candy.**


	28. Everything Coming Together?

**Step SIX: "By groups and by individuals, acceptance can be of various events and conditions in the world; individuals may also accept elements of their own thoughts, feelings, and personal histories. For example, psychotherapeutic treatment of a person with depression or anxiety could involve fostering acceptance _either_ for whatever personal circumstances may give rise to those feelings _or_ for the feelings themselves."**

**Song of the step:**** "Hands Down" by: Dashboard Confessional.**

**Song of the chapter:**** "Graves" by: Tokyo Police Club.**

**Quick note: Holy fuck. I was in a car crash on Thursday. Before you ask, I'm ok. Some bruising and soreness, but I've got pain meds if it gets bad. Scary day though.... Anyways, I hope y'all had a wonderful, _safe_ Mother's Day or just a good time altogether. Here's the next installment. **

**(R.I.P. Stephanie, a.k.a. Daddy's Little Cannibal.)**

-x-x-x-

**Chapter Twenty-Seven: Everything Coming Together?.**

"Oh hell yeah!"

It had been a nice sentiment to start the evening off with. Courtesy of one surprised Emmett---apparently Rosalie _hadn't_ told him what was going on---the words caused smiles all around the table in the Brewery. Alice and Jasper had walked in, and from what their "family" could see, they were so close together you couldn't even fit a slip of paper in between 'em. He had his arm wrapped tightly around her waist, and she couldn't help but laugh at Emmett's linguistic contribution.

"Yeah," she chirped, sitting next to the man in question, "you're right, and that is exactly how I would describe it."

"So." Emmett raised an eyebrow, which came off somewhat suggestive, "how'd _that_ happen? Or was this a pity thing? I know he hasn't gotten any in who knows how long. I must say it's nice of you to let him cop a feel." He then wiggled those eyebrows of his, indicating that he was just being himself, just joking as usual.

The pair glanced at each other, and seemed to say, "Should've known." Somewhere in the exchange, they picked the talking order.

"Well, she was pretty mad at me, actually."

"Make-up sex heal your wounded heart? Or were you two drunk and feisty?" More wiggling of the eyebrows ensued, followed up with a neat smack to the side of the head, thanks be to Rosalie.

"No, Emmett. No. Though it is funny you should mention that, as drunkenness was part of the problem. Or should I say, perceived drunkenness. I thought she was, and so when she kissed me, I felt like I had to put an end to it prematurely, and that ticked her off. She told me off good for that one, and the next morning I got one heck of the cold shoulder."

"Obviously, hon. You were being ridiculous, almost like you didn't want to kiss me. Good thing you ended up mad too, or we would've never gotten anywhere useful," Alice added, a teasing inflection in her voice. She could remember it clearly, and as mad as she had been at the time, seeing him get mad was indescribably hot. He almost never did, but if that's what it was like, she wouldn't mind nearly as much....

"Probably not," Jasper agreed. "It'd be back to the drawing board again."

"Tell me more, tell me more… Did you get very far? Tell me more, tell me more; like does he have a big rig?" Emmett sang, his face utterly euphoric thanks to the lyrics he'd come up with. The rest of the group though felt compelled to do an unaminous eyebrow raise. Edward specifically felt like asking him where on earth he'd got those from, but soon realized that they had to be of his own invention, and courtesy of _Grease_. He knew he should have never asked him to come to the play in sophomore year, but he'd wanted all his friends there; he was playing Danny, and in Emmett's words, "he definitely had the hair for it, if not the colour."

"Okay, okay, so I don't want to know what he's packing... but tell us what happened, skipping the gross bits where you let his eel rest in your cave and all that stuff."

"You watched that movie, Emmett?" Rosalie wondered. _Memoirs of a Geisha_ didn't seem like the type of film he'd be interested in whatsoever, though she was certain he got a kick out of the whole story about the eel and cave. Now _that_ seemed to be more in line with him at least.

"Yeah. It was on T.V. one day and...." He waved his hand dismissively.

"Got it," she added, nodding.

"Uh, well."

"Just ignore him Jasper," Bella suggested. "I wanna hear this story too."

Keeping their rather bold friend's comments _mostly _out of mind, the new couple explained what happened after the argument at the hotel, but in deference, didn't give any of the so-called "gory details." Neither would have anyway, as they were both the sort of person who didn't often kiss-and-tell. It was a respectful gesture, and both of them were anxious not to interrupt their new relationship. Not after they'd been waiting for it to come about for so long.

"And to think I thought he just was crushing on you in high school. I thought it was just a passing thing you know. You like a girl for a while, but then you move on. And then you were like our friend, Sprite, so it sort of made sense that he'd crush on you, being as we spent so much time together and all that jazz. I thought he'd get over it eventually. But hell, I like that he hasn't. You two mesh."

"Well thanks, Emmett. I'm so glad we _mesh," _Jasper replied. "We were only waiting on your approval you know."

"You can't believe my momma, _Jazzy_. I'm not as oblivious as she thinks I am. I understand sarcasm, even if I like keeping it real." Rosalie looked like she was in the mood to have some words with him, but as he was just joking, she let it pass unaddressed. However, she was liking his general attitude at the moment. She hadn't ever dated anyone nearly as energetic or out there as Emmett. And she was loving it so far. Loving him.

She hadn't even really known him that long, but it didn't seem to be taking her long to realize that he was something special for her. She wouldn't label him anything sentimental, like "The One", "It", or "My Future Man." Nah. For now he was just Emmett, and that was okay on both ends of the relationship. A decidedly good starting point for sure.

Talk ensued, and one person in particular was enjoying her night. Bella truly was glad everything worked out, never mind the rough patches it took to get there. Also, watching the two of them, she couldn't help but think. Think about how despite all their problems, they were together now, and it didn't seem forced. They were both really happy, and she could easily envision them _staying_ together for a long time. That was one relationship that wasn't going to end in separation, Bella was almost certain.

In fact, as the night drew to a close, that wasn't the only thing she was feeling certain about. There was another matter, one of her own, and of Edward. Involving a certain proposal that had gone unanswered for quite the spell. She really didn't want him to wait any longer. Bella was ready now, and so she wasted no time. They were walking to the car when the word came from her mouth, and when it did, Edward wasn't sure at first what it was.

"Yes." She smiled even though he was looking at her, clearly confused about what she was affirming. It was a cute sort of lost look, and because it was so rare with him being on top of things usually, it was even more special to Bella. She loved to surprise him, if only a little. And he'd been waiting so patiently, too....

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask what you're agreeing to, love."

"Well," she chuckled softly, "What have you been wanting to know the answer to for a long while? I'll give you one little guess."

The expression on his face when he figure it out was even better. He didn't say anything, just pulled her in for arguably one of the best kisses of her life. It shored things up in her mind, and any lingering doubts about the wedding were erased. Like everyone else, there might be rough times, but they'd work through it because she was _certain_ they were supposed to be together. And Bella knew that he felt the same way. Edward would fight to keep her, just like she would with him. They could do this, it wasn't even a question anymore.

* * *

Home sweet home. They were back at her house, curled up under the covers talking. It had been an excellent night out with the gang, and about now, they were both feeling incredibly happy. They talked it over for a while, but in the end, she came up with a question of a different nature, something she'd wondered about earlier.

"You know when Emmett was talking about high school, when you liked me?"

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you say anything, even after Valentine's Day?" He glanced at her. She looked naught but curious, and truth be told, it was only a simple question. Nothing scary. Jasper didn't see any reason why he shouldn't tell her the whole story, but it wasn't his favorite memory by any account. However, he was sort of tired of the whole holding-back thing. It didn't work, and if he had just held back after the wedding, well then they wouldn't be here right now. They'd be in a fight, and more likely to argue than to make love or even just talk like they were doing now.

Might as well tell her, he concluded. It might even help to get it off your chest. Just do it.

"I was going to... but it didn't work out so well for me. Bad timing, I guess. Then after that, I didn't feel like there was any hope, so I gave up on saying anything," he explained, glancing at the wall behind her for some small distraction. "It was stupid of me, but I wasn't the smartest when it came to you...ever."

"Oh." From the way she said it, he knew she was remembering the day in question. And then by the expression on her face, he knew that it upset her. He didn't want that, but yet, he didn't think the best course was just to smooth things over. He still hated that day, and talking about it honestly was the only way to make it better. Sometimes you had to talk about unpleasant things. That was just the way of life.

"I really am sorry you had to see that. In hindsight, I wish I didn't do it...him, but even that same day I felt so, so awful. I liked you too then. And god, if it had gone differently, if you'd just talked to me and and I didn't rush off into what I did, it would have been so much better." She sighed dispassionately, and he felt like nodding at that. It definitely would have been an improvement compared to reality. But he supposed the important thing was that they were together now. They could be not together at all.

"Why... why did you do it, Alice? I never really figured that one out. Were you guys into each other then, or what?" Japser asked. As much as he hated the idea, he did have that one lingering question. Them being together had just come out of nowhere, or at least that's how it had seemed to him at the time. So he was curious.

She sighed deeply. "Actually, Jasper, it was for a stupid, trivial reason. Or rather, a few silly things mashed together. We weren't into each other like that, never were. I just had a bad day I suppose. I never really cared much about Valentine's until that year, but it hurt to see everyone paired up, why, I still can't say. Then a boy had teased me the other day, and I really shouldn't have let it bother me, but it got to me anyway. So when I came home from school, I was sad. And I felt like love or even lust was something out of my grasp. So I ended up, after much arguing with myself about it in my head, asking Edward if he'd... well you know. Just because I thought that would be the only time, and I wanted to at least say I know what sex is like. So yeah. Stupid reasons."

"It's not stupid, it makes sense in a really strange way. Now that doesn't mean I'll ever look back on it too favorably, but I do understand a little of where you were coming from, darlin. Thanks for telling me about it. It helps a little to know what was really going on." He smiled, and she returned it shyly.

"I love you."

"You know how I feel about those words," he joked.

She giggled and shook her head slightly. "Silly man. They're just words, no need for that kind of fear."

"Kidding, Ali. I love you too."

"I know. Trust me, now I know...."

* * *

**Author's Note: Eh, what did ya think? Talking good for you too, my lovely readers? (eyebrow wiggle, Emmett style) You know how I whore myself out for those reviews, so please, please feed my addiction! (Lol). All the couples are feeling warm-and-fuzzy with each other, which I know pleases me. Let me know how it makes ya feel. Review!**


	29. Epilogue

**Epilogue **

**Song: "Egoïste" by: James.**

Indeed, as you might have expected, everyone lived tolerably happy ever after. There were subsequently three weddings, and maybe it might come as a surprise, but the first wedding was actually Rosalie and Emmett's. This took place as a slight rebellion. In fact Alice was busy planning all three, but the aforementioned couple was finding themselves very impatient to be wed as they were soon to be a family of _three_. The third member of said family, a darling baby girl known as Sadie, arrived in between her parent's wedding and that of Bella and Edward's.

Sadie was just the first of the children born to our couples, as Anthony Jacob Masen was conceived very quickly on_ his_ parents' honeymoon, where-after followed Sadie's sister Jennifer. The girls' mother went into labor with Jennifer at the reception of Alice and Jasper's nuptials, and it was quite the party trick. Also at that same wedding, our fine fellow Dallas became acquainted with Helen, the younger daughter of our old friends the Freedmans. The pair hit it off immediately, and only after that couple formed was Dallas forgiven by Bella and Alice herself.

You might very well wonder if Dallas got on with the rest of the group. The truth is, Edward, Emmett, and Rosalie had nothing to hold against him, and so they were perfectly cordial. Jasper however, never really got over the whole incident, and the two had a grudging truce with one another. On "family" occasions they could only be persuaded to sit close together or get along when in front of some sort of sporting event whilst also in the company of the other two men. And whenever there was an overnight stay, Jasper never failed in remembering to lock he and his new wife's bedroom door, even though she always wondered what he was up to by doing that. Alice simply contented herself with the fact that on such nights, her husband was especially eager in certain other pursuits that could be carried out in the bedroom.

Which of course, was perfectly all right by her. It also led to to twin sons, after which she declared that she was never again getting pregnant, thanks to enduring two horrors in one day. This declaration remained un-acted-upon for several years, in which she had three more children; two boys who were not twins, and lastly after much waiting, a girl. Only then did she follow up on the statement and make it impossible for herself to ever have to suffer being pregnant again by having a lovely little surgery carried out on her breeding bits.

Once all of her boys were in school and her daughter in preschool, she finally endeavoured to start her own event-planning business, which as her husband had guessed, did _very_ well indeed. Being the grand maestro of events suited Alice incredibly, and she often got to work with her best friend Bella, who provided most of the flowers for such parties.

Bella twice unsuccessfully attempted being a stay-at-home mom and wife, but found herself much too bored to put up with it, and so she stuck to working at her nursery. It was a good place for her two young children to play anyway, and if they were occupied amongst flowers and ferns, she didn't need to worry or watch them too closely.

Meanwhile Edward eventually gained notoriety in the community as the foremost detective in the county, and in his mid-thirties became the department head. No matter what job he was working at though, he _never_ was strapped like S.W.A.T. off-duty, as Emmett had so vehemently imagined at one point. In fact, Edward resisted in ever bringing his handgun home at all, as he worried enough about his over-eager children getting their hands on the kitchen knives to want to put a gun in their probable arsenal. It didn't help his nerves that they seemed to have their mother's coordination around anything sharp....

In our third couple's household there was a lot of instances in which eels rested in caves, which for Emmett and Rosalie, equaled marital bliss. Surprisingly enough, having two little girls went well with their father, who quite enjoyed the three C's in his daughters' lifes: cold cereal, coloring, and cartoons on Saturday mornings. At least, he was pleased enough until Sadie and Jennifer started thinking they _rather_ preferred watching movies and eating out with _boys_ instead of at home with family. By that age, their mother stepped in and had a good discussion with her husband about their girls. Needless to say, he somewhat behaved himself when Sadie brought home her first boyfriend at age sixteen.

Somewhat. But let's not worry ourselves over trivial details. The pair did end up going to Prom in one piece, and for Emmett, that was quite the accomplishment.

Dallas and Helen were the last to get hitched, but they decided not to procreate, wanting instead to spend their money on travel and material items---Jasper may have supported this decision more avidly than the rest of the group did, but no one has to know _that_.

So yes. It took a few false starts, but in the end everyone had their own happily-ever-after. They say every story has a moral, and if we're looking for it---after all it was Lewis Carroll who wrote "Everything has a moral, if only you can _find_ it."---then it would have to concern Denial, a most piteous of emotions. Everyone one denies something in their lifetime; it is a basic part of human nature, but it often serves no good purpose. So if you find yourself practicing such a dreaded thing as Denial, think twice. What you may have denied could in fact be something very, very important.

Perhaps not as important love, but as we saw in this instance, love was the object denied. Moral? Just don't do it, people.

_Thank you and good-night_.

* * *

******Author's Note: ****This is the end. I shall be sad to see this one go, but what's done is done. Perhaps a parting review? What did you think of the epilogue, or do you have comments about the story in general? I just want to take this time to say a big, fat THANKS and give y'all loves for sticking with the story during its duration. You guys are the best readers, and quite excellent reviewers as well---a rare thing to have, so that's extra special to me.**

**When I began _Denial..._ I never thought it was going to be this long, really. I figured maybe somewhere in the range of 10-15 chapters at the most, but apparently I undercalculated, because here we are with 28 chapters plus this epilogue. Wow-ee.**

**I must say, it is sad switching this story's status from 'Incomplete' to 'Complete'. But alas, c'est la vie.**

**After this I'll be continuing on with my other stories, but I do have a new project in the works. It's a DARKfic that is posted on my other account: http : / / www . fanfiction . net / ~ risquetendencies /**

**Check it out if you like that sort of thing, and if not, maybe some of my other stuff is your cup 'o tea. Either way, this has been a great journey, and I thank you for being a part of it.**

**Bidding you a most fond adieu,**

**Candy a.k.a. Voldemortperfumes.**


	30. INDIE TWIFIC AWARDS NOMINEE PLZ VOTE

**Oh my Goodness.**

--

Hi everyone, and guess what? I recieved a message today claiming this story has been nominated in the Indie Twific Awards! Woot!

To whoever nominated me---eternal loves and kisses.

I really am shocked... but pleased as well.

Ok. So um, if you wish to vote for this story in the awards, here's the link:

http://theindietwificawards (dot) com/

Voting starts July 8th, and last till July 12th (Ooh, my birthday is on the 13th *wink)

A short list of final round nominees will be posted on that site on July 14th.

And then final round voting will take place on July 22nd to July 26th.

Winners are announced July 28th!

So if you loved this story and think it deserves to win, please don't be shy, vote!

Much loves,

Candy.


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